New High for Dow Industrials

Updated from 4:20 p.m. EST

Stocks were sluggish for much of the session and closed narrowly mixed Tuesday, but for the Dow Jones Industrial Average it was another record finish.

The Dow rose 26.51 points, or 0.21%, to 12,582.59, thanks to gains of 1.5% or more in components IBM (IBM Quote) and DuPont (DD Quote).

The S&P 500 added 1.17 points, or 0.08%, to 1431.90, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.04 points, or 0.2%, to 2497.78.

Volume was strong to start the abbreviated week, with 2.68 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange. On the Nasdaq, nearly 2.22 billion shares traded. Losers edged winners.

Wall Street is coming off a week in which the Dow gained 158 points, or 1.3%, and the S&P 500 added 21 points, or 1.5%. The Nasdaq jumped 69 points, or 2.8%.

However, Paul Nolte, director of investments with Hinsdale Associates, said that many technical indicators "have deteriorated over the past couple of weeks as the major averages close at multiyear highs, indicating that forces pushing stocks higher are waning."

One of the top stories of last week was the downtrend in crude oil prices, and that decline spilled over as the new week began. February futures shed $1.78 to finish at $51.21. Other energy contracts were mixed.

"The decline in commodity prices has temporarily been halted as economic growth has shown some life," said Nolte. "However, whether the short-term rise is merely a correction in a larger declining pattern remains to be seen. The reaction of the markets to the normal winter conditions this week will be interesting to watch. Inventories still remain well above normal."