SP 500, Dow industrials close at record highs Nas

S&P 500, Dow industrials close at record highs
Nasdaq Composite Index closes higher even with near hour-long halt

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks finished higher Tuesday with both blue-chip stocks and the S&P 500 index setting record closing highs, as results from Pfizer Inc. and an International Business Machines stock buyback stoked momentum.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI JIA) gained 111.42 points, or 0.7%, to close at 15,680.35, topping its former closing high from mid-September, its 32nd record close of the year. IBM (NYSE:IBM) led the index, closing up 2.7%, after the company authorized an additional $15 billion stock buyback, followed by shares of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) Pfizer Inc. (NYSE FE) also fed the blue-chip rally with a 1.7% gain following its quarterly earnings report before the open.
The S&P 500 (SNC:SPX) notched its 33rd record close of the year, finishing up 9.84 points, or 0.6%, at 1,771.95. Telecom and consumer staples fared best among S&P 500 sectors, while materials and utilities performed the worst.

The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:COMP) rose 12.21 points, or 0.3%, to close at 3,952.34, after being frozen for nearly an hour because of a “human error” in the data distribution system. The index reached an intraday high of 3,957.12. The tech-heavy index was weighed down by a 2.5% decline for shares in Apple Inc., which posted earnings late Monday. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-ga...beforebell