Dow ends at new record after topping 16,000 mark

The Dow edged higher to a fresh record Monday after topping 16,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 breached 1,800 but pulled back in late trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a meager gain of 14.32 points (0.09 percent) at 15,976.02 after reaching an intraday high of 16,030.28 shortly after the market opened. It was the blue-chip Dow's fourth consecutive record close.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 6.65 (0.37 percent) at 1,791.53, falling heavily in late-afternoon trade after earlier scaling above 1,800 for the first time.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 36.90 (0.93 percent) at 3,949.07.

"Stocks turned lower in the final hour of trading after Carl Icahn expressed a cautious outlook on equity markets," Wells Fargo Advisors said in a market note. "The comments added to existing trepidation following a six-week rally on the S&P" and ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's late Tuesday, the firm said.

Art Hogan, head of product strategy for equity research at Lazard Capital Markets, said Sunday's news of major airplane orders for Boeing and Airbus catalyzed markets.

Dow member Boeing rose 1.7 percent after winning more than $100 billion in new airplane orders at the Dubai Airshow on Sunday.

JPMorgan Chase, another Dow component, rose 1.6 percent after announcing a $4.5 billion settlement Friday to compensate 21 institutional investors for losses on mortgage securities it and Bear Stearns sold before the financial crisis.

Microsoft, another blue chip, retreated 1.7 percent after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded it to "underperform" citing "transition risk" over the company's search for a new chief executive to replace outgoing head Steve Ballmer.

Heavyweight Apple dropped 1.2 percent on the Nasdaq.  Other tech stocks stumbled. Facebook tumbled 6.5 percent, Tesla sank 10.2 percent and Netflix lost 2.3 percent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dropped to 2.68 percent from 2.71 percent Friday, while the 30-year dipped to 3.77 percent from 3.80 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely. (AFP)