Dow Nears 12,000

Updated from 4:16 p.m. EDT

The Dow Jones Industrial Average came up just short of crossing the 12,000 mark Monday for the first time in its history, but the index still set another all-time closing high.

When trading was done for the day, the Dow had collected a gain of 20.09 points, or 0.17%, to 11,980.60. Of the 30 stocks that make up the industrials, 17 were in positive territory, led by Alcoa (AA Quote) and Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote), both up more than 2%.

AT&T (T Quote) and Home Depot (HD Quote) were the primary laggards.

About 2.35 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and on the Nasdaq 1.88 billion shares changed hands. Winners beat losers roughly 2 to 1.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 added 3.43 points, or 0.25%, to 1369.05, and the Nasdaq Composite tacked on 6.55 points, or 0.28%, at 2363.84.

Earnings season began in earnest this week, and among the companies with results was Mattel (MAT Quote). The toymaker exceeded analysts' third-quarter earnings estimates and said a stock option probe found errors, but that they weren't material.

Mattel earned $239 million, or 62 cents a share, for the quarter, up from $225 million, or 55 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 7% to $1.79 billion. Shares of Mattel gained 2.9% to $21.30.

At Philips Electronics (PHG Quote), profits rose sharply to $5.3 billion following a big gain from the sale of a majority interest in its chip unit. Revenue ticked up to just under $8 billion. Philips slipped 0.9% to $34.71.

To view Gregg Greenberg's video take on today's market, click here.