Dow Again Closes at Record High

A modest upturn in afternoon trading was enough to deliver record high closes for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Russell 2000 index, which tracks small and mid-sized companies, the AP reports. The Standard & Poor's 500 index of large companies ended just below its own all-time high Tuesday. Phone companies rose more than the rest of the market. AT&T jumped 1.9%. Banks also rose. The price of oil slumped after a 4-day rally. Energy companies ended slightly lower. Pioneer Natural Resources fell 1.9%. The Dow rose 35 points, or 0.2%, to 19,251. The S&P 500 index rose 7 points, or 0.3%, to 2,212. The Nasdaq composite rose 24 points, or 0.5%, to 5,333. The Russell jumped 14 points, or 1.1%, to 1,352. (More Dow Jones stories.)