Stock Market Hits New Record High
The Wall Street Journal reports:
NEW YORK—The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up to a fresh two-year closing high Thursday while other measures slipped following a mixed bag of economic data that left investors with little reason to make major position changes ahead of the holiday.
The Dow rose 14 points, or 0.12%, to 11573.49, its highest closing level since August 2008.
Alcoa led its climb with a rise of 20 cents, or 1.3%, to $15.34. Chevron was also strong, up 76 cents, or 0.9%, to 90.68, and Exxon Mobil added 40 cents, or 0.6%, to 73.20, boosted by a climb in crude-oil futures to fresh two-year highs above $91 a barrel.
Limiting the Dow's ascent, Bank of Americafell 32 cents, or 2.4%, to 13.06. Walt Disneywas also weak, off 25 cents, or 0.7%, to 37.70, while Travelers slipped 37 cents, or 0.7%, to 55.48.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.88, or 0.22%, to 2665.60, but gained 0.9% for the week The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index shed 2.07, or 0.16%, to 1256.77, with financials leading to the downside in a small pullback from the sector's Wednesday rally while energy and materials stocks rose. The broad measure gained 1% on the week.
Still, it was a positive week for stocks, with the Dow up 0.71% on the week, the S&P 500 up 1% and the Nasdaq up 0.9%, adding to their gains for the month. With one week left to December, the Dow is up 5.2% for the month, while the S&P 500 is up 6.5% and the Nasdaq is up 6.7%.
U.S. stock markets are closed on Friday, Christmas Eve.
