Dow sets record high on 21-point rise

NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average edged to another all-time high Monday.

Stock trading volume was among the lowest levels of the year, and bond markets were closed for Veterans Day. Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange held a moment of silence in observance of the holiday.

The Dow has advanced for five straight weeks and is up 20 percent this year. The last time the Dow had a bigger gain for a whole year was 2003, when it rose 25 percent.

Other major indexes have also surged. Stocks have been propelled higher this year by economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve, a gradually improving economy, and rising company earnings.

The Dow rose 21.32 points, or 0.14 percent, to 15,783.10. The index of 30 blue-chip stocks has closed at a record 35 times this year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1.28 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,771.89, just 0.06 point below its own record high reached Oct. 29. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.56 points, or 0.01 percent, to 3,919.79.

Stocks can rise further from these levels, but the market's rate of ascent will likely slow given the big gains over the last 41/2 years, said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors. The S&P 500 is up more than 160 percent since bottoming out in March 2009.

Investors will be closely following the Senate Banking Committee's confirmation hearing for Janet Yellen on Thursday. Yellen has been nominated to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, becoming the first woman to lead the U.S. central bank.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped last week to 2.75 percent, the highest in six weeks, after the government reported last month's surge in hiring.

In commodities trading, the price of oil rose 54 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $95.14 a barrel. The price of gold fell $3.50, or 0.3 percent, to $1,281.10 an ounce.

Among stocks making big moves, Transocean rose $1.92, or 3.6 percent, to $55.37 after the company said it had agreed to settle a months-long proxy fight with billionaire investor and minority shareholder Carl Icahn. The company will pay a $3-a-share dividend and reduce the size of its board.

Best Buy rose $1.92, or 4.5 percent, to $44.33 after an analyst at UBS lifted his rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral" and raised his price target on the stock in anticipation of better earnings. Best Buy has risen 274 percent this year, making it the best performer in the S&P 500 index.