The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index delivered new highs Tuesday, beating marks they set last week.
The Nasdaq composite also built on its gains for the year, finishing higher for the 10th day in a row.
The latest milestones came as investors liked what they heard from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who told Congress the central bank would be patient about raising interest rates as the economy improves.
“Markets had been very focused on the Yellen testimony and wanted to see if there was going to be any change in the outlook for the first Fed rate hike,” said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist for UBS Wealth Management Research. “The short answer to that is, not really. The Fed is, at a minimum, not going to do anything imminently.”
Progress in Greece’s efforts to secure an extension of its rescue program and strong earnings from Home Depot also encouraged traders. The home-improvement retailer was the best performer in the 30-company Dow, rising 4.4 percent.
The Dow ended up 92.35 points, or 0.5 percent, to 18,209.19. That’s up 0.4 percent from its most-recent high of 18,140.44, on Friday.
The S&P 500 gained 5.82 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,115.48. The index also reached its previous high of 2,110.30 on Friday.
The Nasdaq gained 7.15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,968.12. The index, which has yet to eclipse its record high from the dot-com era, is now within 81 points of that March 2000 peak.
The three main U.S. stock indexes are all up for the year. The S&P 500 has closed at a new high four times this month. The Dow has done it twice.
