Equipment companies power Dow and S&P 500 to new records

Associated Press

NEW YORK

The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 indexes again set records Wednesday in a quiet day of pre-holiday trading. Machinery and equipment makers climbed after strong results from Deere, but technology companies fell.

Stocks opened mostly lower, but they slowly recovered. Industrial companies like Caterpillar and United Technologies continued to rise. Banks also rose as bond yields climbed. Companies that make hardware and network devices skidded after printer and PC maker HP gave a weak profit forecast.

“It sends kind of a chill through the sector,” said Sameer Samana, a strategist for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The Dow rose 59.31 points, or 0.3 percent, to 19,083.18. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up 1.78 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,204.72. The Nasdaq composite lost 5.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,380.68. Trading was relatively light ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. U.S. markets will be closed today and will close early on Friday.

The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks climbed for the 14th day in a row. It has closed at a record high for nine consecutive days, and it’s up 18 percent this year, more than twice as much as the S&P 500, which tracks large companies.

Deere, an agricultural and construction equipment maker, reported a bigger profit than analysts expected even though its business has been hurt by a slowdown construction and low commodity prices, which have caused farmers to cut back on purchases of equipment. The stock advanced $10.16, or 11 percent, to $102.17, its highest-ever closing price.

Already trading at all-time highs, industrial companies continued to rise after Deere’s report. Construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar gained $2.56, or 2.7 percent, to $96.18. United Technologies, which makes elevators, jet engines and other things, added $1.17, or 1.1 percent, to $108.11. Both companies are Dow components, which contributed to the Dow’s big gain.

Printer and PC maker HP lost ground after it issued a profit forecast that disappointed investors. Its stock gave up $1.08, or 6.8 percent, to $14.87.