Phone, bank stocks push indexes higher

NEW YORK - Stocks posted slight gains Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to another record, helped by shares of telecommunications companies such as Verizon, Sprint and AT&T.

Small companies and bank stocks also rose as investors continue to speculate that U.S. economic growth will pick up under the incoming Trump administration.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 35.54 points, or 0.2 percent, to 19,251.78, a record high close. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 7.52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,212.23 and the Nasdaq composite rose 24.11 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,333.

Telecommunications stocks were among the biggest gainers, helped by a myriad of company-specific news. Dow member Verizon climbed 61 cents, or 1 percent, to $50.36 and AT&T rose 72 cents, or 2 percent, to $39.35. Overall, the telecom sector of the S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent.

AT&T rose after reports that its newly launched DirectTV Now service was attracting more subscribers than anticipated, while Verizon rose as the company sold a group of data centers for $3.6 billion.

Separately, Sprint and T-Mobile gained after President-elect Donald Trump said that Japanese company Softbank, which owns the majority of Sprint, was going to invest $50 billion in the U.S. to create 50,000 jobs over the next four years. However, it’s not clear whether Softbank’s announcement is new. T-Mobile shares rose on speculation that it could be acquired in a de-regulatory Trump White House, possibly by SoftBank.

Sprint jumped 12 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $8.17, while T-Mobile rose 97 cents, or roughly 2 percent, to $55.99.

Bank stocks also continued to perform well, as they have since the election. The financial services sector of the S&P 500 closed up 1 percent.