Markets hit record highs in half day session

Stocks closed at another record high in a holiday-shortened Christmas Eve session in New York Tuesday. With markets shutting down at 1 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones industrial average added 62.94 points or 0.39 percent to 16,357.55. The DJIA has hit at least 45 record highs this year and is up more than 24 percent since January. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, up more than 27 percent for the year, added 5.33 points, 0.29 percent, to 1,833.32, also setting a record closing high. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock added 6.51 points, 0.16 percent, to 4,155.42. On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,043 issues advanced while 1,015 declined. Trading was light with 1.3 billion shares trading hands Stocks got a boost from November's durable goods data. New orders in November rose 3.5 percent, the Commerce Department said. In a separate report, the department said new home sales in November slid 2.1 percent compared to October. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 0.12 percent or 11.91 points to 15,889.33. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 257.99 points or 1.13 percent to 23,179.55 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 35.30 points or 0.67 percent to 5,327.20. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was up 15.56 points or 0.23 percent to 6,694.17. The French CAC 40 added 3.12 points or 0.07 percent to 4,218.41. The 10-year U.S. treasury note was down 13/32 for a yield of 2.982 percent. The euro traded at $1.368, off 0.17 cent, and the dollar slightly higher against the yen at 104.26 yen. Gold gained $7.40 to $1,204.40 per troy ounce. Silver added 6.2 cents to $19.475. Crude oil was up 26 cents to $99.17 per barrel. On the Chicago Board of Trade, March corn was up 1 cent to $4.35 1/4 a bushel, January soybeans added 5 1/2 cents to $13.34 and March wheat dropped 3 1/4 cents to $6.06 1/4.