NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday as aircraft maker Boeing Co <BA.N> rose after it said it expects the first flight of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner by the end of 2009, boosting the Dow, and financial shares' strength helped lift the broad market.

It was the Dow's eighth straight day of gains.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 37.48 points, or 0.39 percent, to end unofficially at 9,581.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 2.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,030.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 3.30 points, or 0.16 percent, to close unofficially at 2,027.73.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)