Dow closes in on 20,000

BY THE NUMBERS Dow Jones Industrials: +91.56 to 19,974.62 Standard & Poor’s: +8.23 to 2,270.76 Nasdaq Composite Index: +26.50 to 5,483.94

NEW YORK — Big gains for banks and companies focused on travel helped propel U.S. stock indexes to record levels on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average moved closer than ever to 20,000, but the symbolic threshold remained just out of reach.

Banks once again led the way Tuesday as bond yields and interest rates bounced higher. Strong earnings from cruise line operator Carnival and gains for travel website TripAdvisor led consumer companies higher. Household goods makers fell after Cheerios maker General Mills cut its sales projections for the year, and energy companies fell for the second day in a row. That hadn’t happened three weeks. The Dow came within 13 points of the 20,000 mark around 10 a.m.