U.S. stocks inched higher at Monday's closing bell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting a new record high during a day that afforded investors little excitement and a chance to consider their next move following last week's big gains.
The Dow gained 21.07 points, or 0.13% to close at 15,782.85, another record high. On Friday, it surged 168 points, or 1.1%, closing at a record after better-than-expected October jobs data.
The S&P 500 index climbed 1.25 point, or 0.07% to close at 1,771.86, while the Nasdaq Composite reversed an early loss to rise 1.67 points, or 0.04% to end the day at 3,919.79.
Despite the new record highs, it was a nothing sort of day investors. No major economic releases were issued today due to the Veterans Day holiday. The Treasury market was closed. No significant corporate earnings reports hit the wire.
Bill Stone, Chief Investment Strategist at PNC Asset Management Group, told Barrons.com:
Quiet market today with the lack of both US economic and earnings data. Also markets likely lacked some participants thanks to the holiday and the resultant bond market closure. Following on last week’s data, investors will likely be hungry for US economic data to better gauge the possibility of a Fed taper as soon as December.
Last week's stock market rally was fueled by growing confidence in the U.S. jobs market after the Labor Department said employers added 204,000 jobs last month.
Some speculate those figures open the door for the Fed to start tapering its stimulus programs. Others have been skeptical of the stock market's steady climb, worried that recent highs are not sustainable.
Late this week, Federal Reserve chairwoman nominee Janet Yellen's confirmation hearing on Thursday in front of the U.S. Senate banking committee
European stocks nudged higher in quiet trading. The Stoxx Europe 600 tacked on 0.6%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 0.3%.
In Asia, the Philippines PSE Composite dropped 1.4% after the country was devastated by a typhoon. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.3% and China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.16%.
The euro edged higher against the dollar. December crude-oil futures rose 0.6% to $95.14 a barrel, while gold futures shed 0.3% to $1,281.00 an ounce.
In corporate news:
Google (GOOG) retreated on Monday after it was removed from Morgan Stanley's Best Idea List, while Twitter (TWTR) rose during its third trading day as a public company.
Tesla Motors (TSLA) gained 4.9%, after losing 15% last week on the heels of yet another Model S car fire that resulted in major front-end damage.
J.C. Penney (JCP) advanced 4%. Last week, the retailer said its same-store sales rose 0.9% in October, the first rise since December 2011. Meanwhile, Best Buy (BBY) added 4.5%.
Shares of ViroPharma (VPHM) spiked nearly 26% after the rare-disease company said it was being acquired by U.K. biopharmaceutical firm Shire (SHPG). Shire is paying $4.2 billion, or $50 a share, to ViroPharma. Shire's ADRs rose 0.7%
FirstEnergy (FE) fell 5.7%. The power company last week narrowed its full-year outlook.
Denbury Resources (DNR) shares dropped 5.9% after oil-and-natural-gas explorer on Sunday announced that it will initiate quarterly dividend and raised its share repurchase plan to $250 million from the $109 million remaining in its program.
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