NEW YORK (AP) — Technology companies led the stock market higher Monday, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index above the all-time closing high it reached earlier this month.
A pair of strong economic reports also encouraged investors. Wages and spending rose in the U.S. last month, and pending home sales hit their highest level in three years.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, the S&P 500 index was up 12 points at 1,594, a gain of 0.7 percent. That put the index above the record closing high of 1,593.36 it reached on April 11.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 96 points to 14,808, a gain of 0.7 percent. Microsoft and IBM were among the Dow's best performers, rising 2 percent each.
Concerns about weak business spending and slower overseas sales have cast a shadow over big tech firms, said Marty Leclerc, the managing partner of Barrack Yard Advisors, an investment firm in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Revenue misses from IBM and other big tech companies have highlighted the industry's vulnerability to the world economy. But Leclerc thinks tech companies with steady revenue and plenty of cash look appealing over the long term.
