Stocks rose sharply yesterday, with the S and P 500 cruising to another record and the Dow industrials pushing to the highest level since late May.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 66.51 points - or 0.7 per cent - to 9,091.77, just 120 points below May 13th's record close of 9,211.84 and the blue-chip barometer's highest finish since May 22nd.
The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed at a new high for the fifth time in eight sessions. The NYSE composite index set a closing record for the second session in a row. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,736 up, 1,287 down and 521 unchanged.
NYSE volume totalled 513.22 million shares, almost even with Thursday's pre-holiday tally of 509.40 million. The NYSE composite index rose 5.02 to a record 590.82.
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