The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42.11 to 5,624.71 as the blue-chip sector continued to show renewed vigor.
Advancers led decliners by more than 7 to 4 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,558 up, 881 down and 736 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 458.60 million shares vs. 394.18 million in the previous session.
The broad market also rose, with major indexes adding to Monday's record highs.
The NYSE composite rose 2.19 to 356.52. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 4.10 to 665.61.
The Nasdaq composite rose 11.67 to 1,233.54 and the Russell 2000 list of smaller companies rose 2.96 to 357.46.
At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index rose 3.53 to 600.78, its first finish above 600.
Bonds rose early after the government reported that consumer prices climbed 0.4 percent in April, but that excluding the volatile energy and food sectors, the core rate of inflation was just 0.1 percent.
The markets were also helped by a Commerce Department report that retail sales dropped by 0.3 percent in April.
Bond prices improved for the third straight session, with the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond - a benchmark rate used to set the interest on many types of loans - dipping to about 6.85 percent.