NEW YORK -- Blue-chip stocks turned higher toward the close today, pushing farther into record territory despite some mild profit-taking and more discouraging news in the technology sector. Dow up 31 to record close
The Dow Jones industrial average wiped out an early 35-point loss and rose 31.14 points to close at a record 8,749.99. Yesterday, the blue-chip barometer gained 116 points, crossing 8,700 for the first time and extending this year's gain to 10 percent.
Decliners led advancers by a narrow margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,472 up, 1,511 down and 526 unchanged. NYSE volume was 674.02 million shares, up sharply from yesterday's 546.83 million.
The Standard & Poor's 500 also turned higher over the final hour of trading to notch a fifth record close in six sessions. But the Nasdaq composite index finished lower as technology shares sagged amid late yesterday's news that Micron Technology Inc. had lost more money than expected during its just-ended quarter.
The S&P 500 rose 1.18 to 1,080.45, and the NYSE composite index gained 1.15 to 563.09, also closing at a new high for the fifth time in six sessions. The Nasdaq composite slid 8.88 to 1,779.30. The Russell 2000 index fell 0.66 471.10, snapping a four-session string of record highs, and the American Stock Exchange index rose 0.02 to 718.16.
The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond was down 5/16 point, or $3.121/2 per $1,000 in face value, by late afternoon, while its yield rose to 5.88 percent from 5.86 percent late yesterday.