Dow And S&P 500 Reach New Record Closing Highs

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after ending the previous session mixed. The gains lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs, while the Nasdaq reached its best closing level since 2000.

Adding to the gains posted in the two previous sessions, gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day. Reflecting the strength in the gold sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 5.3 percent.

The rally by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery climbing $13.60 to $1,197.10 an ounce.

Airline stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index jumping by 2.3 percent. United Continental (UAL) helped to lead the sector higher, soaring by 4.1 percent.

Significant strength was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The gain lifted the index to a two-month closing high.

Biotechnology, healthcare, telecom and chemical stocks also turned in strong performances, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained in positive territory. The Dow edged up 40.07 points or 0.2 percent to 17,687.82, the Nasdaq advanced 31.44 points or 0.7 percent to 4,702.44 and the S&P 500 climbed 10.48 points or 0.5 percent to 2,051.80.