NEW YORK, April 30 (UPI) — The Dow Jones index notched a fifth consecutive winning month and the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq indexes their sixth winning month Tuesday.
For the second consecutive session, the S&P 500 set a closing high, as markets made modest gains, while adding to a prolonged ascent that began in November for two major indexes and in December for the Dow.
For April, the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 rose 1.8 percent while the Nasdaq index rose 1.9 percent. For the day, the DJIA added 21.05 or 0.14 percent to 14,839.80. The S&P Tuesday added 3.96 points of 0.25 percent to 1,597.57. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock added 21.77 points or 0.66 percent to 3,328.79.
The Dow’s biggest winners on the day included International Business Machines Corp., up 1.7 percent, and Microsoft Corp., up 1.5 percent.
The Dow was almost evenly split with 16 components making gains and 14 dropping. Pfizer Inc. lead the decliners with a 4.47 percent drop.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,018 issues advanced and 1,022 declined.
In an unusual streak, the Dow has made gains on 16 consecutive Tuesdays, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The 10-year treasury note was flat, yielding 1.675 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3166 from Monday’s $1.3099. The U.S. dollar fell to 97.44 yen from 97.76 yen.
Gold gained $9.10 to $1,476.50 per troy ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed $1.46 to $97.76 per barrel.
On international markets, the Nikkei 225 index in Japan lost 0.17 percent, 23.27 points, to 13,860.86. The London FTSE 100 index dropped 0.43 percent, 27.90 points, to 6,430.12.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn for July delivery dropped 10 1/2 cents to $6.49 1/4 per bushel. Soybeans for July gave up 12 1/2 cents to $13.96 1/4. Wheat gained 13 1/2 cents to $7.30.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
