Slight gains on Wall Street mean record highs

Wall Street extended its milestoneshattering run Tuesday with modest gains for stocks, nudging the major indexes to more record highs.

The S&P 500 had its fifth gain in a row. The benchmark index and the Nasdaq closed at new highs for the fourth straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed at a record high, it’s second milestone this week.

Banks and companies that rely on consumer spending led the way higher, outweighing losses in technology and health care stocks. Treasury yields gave back some of their gains from a day earlier, while the price of crude oil continued its recent march higher.

Investors welcomed encouraging reports on U.S. home construction, industrial production and job openings, extending the market’s upward momentum. Stocks have been vaulting higher in recent days on optimism about an interim U.S.China trade deal announced on Friday. A Federal Reserve meeting last week also spurred buying after investors saw signals from Chairman Jerome Powell that interest rates will stay low for a while.

“A lot of the strength that we’re seeing is just a continuation of the ‘Phase 1’ U.S.China deal from last week and some potential clarity around Brexit,” said Jamie Lavin, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

The S&P 500 rose 1.07 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 3,192.52. With less than three weeks left in 2019, the index is up 27.4 percent for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 31.27 points, or 0.1 percent, to 28,267.16. The Nasdaq climbed 9.13 points or 0.1 percent, to 8,823.36. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 7.63 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,657.56.