Dow Crawls to New Record High

FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here

The Dow crawled to a new record high on Tuesday as traders reviewed a handful of corporate reports.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2.8 points higher, or 0.02%, at 16945, the S&P 500 dipped 0.5 points, or 0.02%, to 1950 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.8 points, or 0.04%, to 4338.

The markets kicked off the week with mild gains, which were enough to drive the Dow and broader S&P 500 to fresh highs. Volume has remained light, leading some analysts to question the conviction in the move.

Activity remained quite light on Tuesday. A gauge of small business sentiment from the National Federation of Independent Business climbed to its highest level since September 2007 in May. Small businesses, which are a major U.S. employer, are also growing less worried about revenues on aggregate.

There is also a report on wholesale sales due later, which could figure into investment banks' economic forecasts.

In corporate news, General Motors (NYSE:GM) is set to hold its annual shareholders meeting. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) snagged PayPal president David Marcus to lead its mobile messaging efforts.

After the closing bell, American International Group (NYSE:AIG) said Peter Hancock, head of the insurance giant’s property casualty unit, will be promoted to president and chief executive on Sept. 1. He will replace Robert Benmosche, who has served as AIG's CEO since 2009.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures rose 33 points, or 0.31%, to $104.73 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline advanced 0.21% to $2.991 a gallon. Gold climbed $1.10, or 0.1%, to $1,255 a troy ounce.