NYSE index reaches record high
The Dow Jones industrials rose for an eighth straight session Tuesday, and the New York Stock Exchange composite index hit a record high, as investors continued to return to the market after the recent sharp pullback. y
In other trading, the dollar fell to a fresh two-year low against the euro.
On Wall Street, most major indexes inched up even though oil prices rose after falling in the previous four sessions.
The Dow gained 4.71 points, or less than 0.1%, to 12,573.85. The index’s eighth consecutive gain was the longest such streak in four years.
The Dow still is 1.7% below the record high it reached Feb. 20. But in a sign of the broader market’s recovery from its winter sell-off, the NYSE composite index rose 39.49 points, or 0.4%, to 9,468.70 on Tuesday, surpassing its previous peak of 9,453.93 on Feb. 20.
The NYSE index is up 3.6% year to date.
Sellers hammered stocks from Feb. 27 through March 5, in part on fears that the slump in the housing market could drag the economy into recession. But recent data have helped to dispel recession concerns.
“It seems there is a general feeling that we have had our correction and all is well,” said Michael Metz, strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. But he said the market would be tested this month by first-quarter corporate earnings reports, which in general are expected to be weak.
Late Tuesday, however, aluminum giant Alcoa reported results that beat expectations.
Separately, the Conference Board said its index of chief executive confidence rose to 53 in the first quarter from 50 in the prior three months, a sign of increasing optimism about the economy. Readings above 50 reflect more positive than negative responses.
Among the day’s market highlights:
* The Dow got a lift from Citigroup, which rose 82 cents to $52.40 on reports that the financial services titan would cut at least 15,000 jobs to reduce costs.
* Among major indexes, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.78 points, or 0.3%, to 1,448.39. The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite added 8.43 points, or 0.3%, to 2,477.61.
* Near-term crude oil futures gained 38 cents to $61.89 a barrel, after tumbling $4.43 in the previous four sessions.
Energy-related stocks generally have remained strong despite oil’s pullback. Exxon Mobil gained 77 cents to $77.57. Baker Hughes surged $2.31 to $69.48.
* Intel, the world’s biggest semiconductor maker, climbed 58 cents to $20.68. A price war with Advanced Micro Devices was unlikely to cause Intel to miss its first-quarter sales estimate of $9 billion, Banc of America Securities said.
* On the downside, shares of home builders were mostly lower after industry leader D.R. Horton said orders for new homes tumbled 37% last quarter, and that the spring season was off to a slow start. Horton shares fell 34 cents to $21.70, Toll Bros. lost 41 cents to $27.75 and KB Home was down 57 cents to $41.96.
Mortgage lenders’ shares also declined. IndyMac Bancorp slid $1.35 to $29.91; Countrywide Financial slipped 50 cents to $33.70.
* Bond yields were little changed. The 10-year Treasury note ended at 4.72%, down from 4.74% on Monday.
* The euro rose to a two-year high of $1.342 from $1.336 on Monday, amid rising optimism about European economic growth. That optimism also was reflected in a six-year high for Germany’s DAX stock index, which rose 0.9% to 7,166.67.
