Modest gains nudge Nasdaq above 15,000 for the first time

Wall Street delivered more milestones Tuesday after a modest pickup in stocks nudged the S&P 500 to an all-time high and the Nasdaq composite climbed above 15,000 for the first time.

The benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.2 percent after a relatively quiet day in the market. Banks and a mix of retailers, travel companies and restaurant chains accounted for much of the upward move. Those gains offset a slide in health care companies, household goods and technology stocks.

Small-company stocks outpaced the rest of the market. Treasury yields mostly edged higher. The price of crude oil had its second solid gain in a row, clawing back more of the ground it lost over the previous two weeks.

The S&P 500 rose 6.70 points to 4,486.23. It was the index’s fourth-straight gain and its first record high since early last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30.55 points, or 0.1 percent, to 35,366.26. The Nasdaq composite climbed 77.15 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,019.80. The tech-heavy index also finished at a record high on Monday.