S&P 500 sets record on bank, tech rally
Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, where, following a drop in the market on Monday, stocks were up, partly boosted by strong results from some of the country's largest financial institutions. (Jan. 14, 2014) Credit: Getty
It was a stock market squeaker.
After piercing its all-time high in early trading, then yo-yoing below and above that level several times during the day, the Standard & Poor's 500 index Wednesday managed to eke out a record at the close, besting the old one by just two-hundredths of a point.
Financial and technology companies had some of the biggest gains. Bank stocks rose after Bank of America reported that its profit surged to $3.44 billion in the fourth quarter. Apple was up 2 percent.
Investors have been worried stocks would stall in the new year after a surge of nearly 30 percent in the S&P 500 last year. The first few trading days in 2014 seemed to confirm their fears. As of the close of trading Monday, the S&P 500 was down 1.6 percent.
But a combination of positive economic reports and strong earnings Wednesday sent all three major indexes higher.
The S&P 500 gained 0.52 percent to 1,848.38. The last closing high was 1,848.36 on Dec. 31, 2013. With Wednesday's rise, the index is now basically flat for the year. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 108.08 points to 16,481.94. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.76 percent to 4,214.88. -- AP
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