Record Finish for Dow

Updated from 4:46 p.m. EDT

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fought its way to its best-ever close Tuesday, eclipsing a record that had stood for more than six and a half years.

Helped by plummeting crude oil prices, the Dow finished at 11,727.34, up 56.99 points, or 0.49% on the day, surpassing the previous record of 11,722.98 that was set on Jan. 14, 2000.

During the session, it went to 11,758.95, an all-time intraday benchmark, before retreating late. Still, the gain was enough to give the index the highest close in its 110-year history.

The Dow, which had threatened to reach a new top several times in recent days, was carried by gains of 1.9% or more in Boeing(BA Quote), Wal-Mart(WMT Quote) and JPMorgan Chase(JPM Quote). Overall, 23 of the 30 components ended in positive territory.

Even if the market is unable to continue its ascent, a new record for the industrials is impressive in that it demonstrates the remarkable ability of stocks to recover from unimaginable turmoil.

At various points in the intervening years, this day would have been practically unthinkable as Wall Street was shaken by such market-altering events as the bursting of the tech bubble, the Enron and WorldCom scandals, and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that profoundly changed the landscape and the psychology of Lower Manhattan.

"It's not just that the Dow is going to an all-time high," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment officer with Windham Financial. "A lot of sectors are breaking out to records, giving us some good rotational activity. When you drop almost $2 in one day on crude prices, we should expect this type of huge move."

To view Farnoosh Torabi's trader interview about the Dow's record close, click here