US markets extend record setting trend

U.S. stock indexes pushed further into record territory Wednesday with financial stocks leading the charge. Both the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard and Poor's 500 marked record highs. The DJIA added 60.44 points, 0.4 percent, and reached 15,275.69 at the close. The Standard and Poor's 500 index added 8.44 points, 0.51 percent, and hit 1,658.78. The Nasdaq composite index gained 9.01 points, 0.26 percent, to reach 3,471.62. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,710 stocks advanced and 1,420 declined on a volume of 3.6 billion shares traded. Among the day's highlights, financial firms American Express Co. and JPMorgan Chase led the Dow with gains of 1.78 percent and 1.71 percent, respectively. The European Commission's data office said the eurozone's recession has extended to six consecutive quarters. In Britain, the Bank of England raised its expectations for Britain's economy in the second quarter, which is expected to rise 0.5 percent, rather than 0.3 percent as previously predicted. The 10-year treasury note rose 11/32 to yield 1.94 percent. The U.S. dollar fell to 102.26 yen from Tuesday's 102.41 yen. The euro fell to $1.2882 from $1.2921. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 2.29 percent -- 337.61 points -- to 15,096.03. In Britain, the FTSE 100 index gained 0.11 percent, 7.49 points, to 6,693.55. Gold was down, dropping $33.40 to $1,391.10 per troy ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 21 cents to $94.42 per barrel. On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn for July delivery shed 2 cents to $6.50 1/2 per bushel. Soybeans for July lost 2 cents to $14.12 3/4. Wheat for July lost 16 3/4 cents to $6.94.