Wall street hits record

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,531, shortly before noon Eastern time. / Picture / AP.

US stock indexes tacked on more to their records set on Monday.

Trading was again quiet, with only modest moves for bond yields, commodities and other markets. Stock markets were closed in Germany, China and South Korea for holidays.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,531, shortly before noon Eastern time.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 77, or 0.3 per cent, to 22,634, and the Nasdaq composite rose 2, or less than 0.1 per cent, to 6,518.

The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks dipped by 5 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,505.

All four indexes set a record on Monday after a reading on U.S. manufacturing growth hit its highest level in 13 years.

PAYDAY: Paychex, which offers payroll, human-resources and other services for companies, jumped to one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after reporting stronger earnings and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock rose US$2.64, or 4.4 per cent, to US$62.45.

REVVED UP: General Motors and Ford Motor were among the market's leaders after each reported strong sales growth in the United States for last month. It's a turnaround for automakers, which had seen sales drop across the industry through the year's first eight months.

GM climbed US$1.16, or 2.7 per cent, to US$43.31, and Ford gained 28 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to US$12.37.

BUILDING HIGHER: Homebuilder Lennar rose after it reported stronger sales and earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Interest rates remain relatively low, and the strengthening job market is helping to convince more people to buy homes. Lennar rose US$1.46, or 2.8 per cent, to US$54.28.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude dipped 16 cents to US$50.42 per barrel. That follows a US$1.09-per-barrel slide on Monday as worries mount that the world has more oil available than it needs. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, fell 8 cents to US$56.04 a barrel.

YIELDS: Bonds prices rose, which pushed yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.32 per cent. The two-year yield fell to 1.46 per cent from 1.49 per cent, and the 30-year yield held steady at 2.87 per cent.