Slight gains push stocks to record highs

The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index delivered new highs Tuesday, beating marks they set last week. The Nasdaq composite also built on its gains for the year, finishing higher for the 10th day in a row.

The milestones came as investors liked what they heard from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who told Congress that the central bank would be patient about raising interest rates as the economy improves.

"Markets had been very focused on the Yellen testimony and wanted to see if there was going to be any change in the outlook for the first Fed rate hike," said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist for UBS Wealth Management Research. "The short answer to that is, not really. The Fed is, at a minimum, not going to do anything imminently."

Also encouraging traders were progress in Greece's efforts to secure an extension of its rescue program and strong earnings from Home Depot. The home-improvement retailer was the best performer in the 30-company Dow, rising 4.4 percent.

The Dow gained 92.35 points, or 0.51 percent, to 18,209.19 - up 0.4 percent from its most recent high, 18,140.44 on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 5.82 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,115.48. Its previous high was 2,110.30 on Friday.

The Nasdaq gained 7.15 points, or 0.14 percent, to 4,968.12. The index, which has not eclipsed its record high from the dot-com era, is within 81 points of that March 2000 peak.

The three main U.S. stock indexes are all up for 2015. The bull market, now in its sixth year, has been powered by strong corporate earnings growth and low interest rates, which make stocks more attractive than bonds.

Yellen's remarks to Congress Tuesday suggest that the interest rate part of that dynamic is not likely to change right away.

In the first part of her two-day testimony, Yellen said that the U.S. economy is making steady progress, but that for now the Fed will remain patient about raising interest rates because the job market is still healing and inflation is too low.

The Fed has kept its benchmark rate near zero since 2008. Yellen's testimony supports the view that a rate increase is not likely before June or even later this year.

Also on Tuesday, Greece's European creditors approved a four-month extension to the nation's financial bailout. A tentative agreement had been reached last week to continue the rescue loan program to avoid the risk of Greek default and exit from the euro currency.

"It was not unexpected, but welcome news," said Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.

The price of oil fell for the fifth day in a row on expectations of rising U.S. inventories. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 17 cents to close at $49.28 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 24 cents to $58.66 in London.

In other futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, wholesale gasoline fell 2.6 cents to close at $1.62 a gallon. Heating oil fell 18.9 cents to close at $2.03 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2.3 cents to close at $2.90 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In metals trading, gold edged down $3.50 to $1,197.30 an ounce, silver lost seven cents to $16.19 an ounce, and copper rose six cents to $2.65 a pound.