Stocks squeezed out a small gain for the third-straight session Thursday, but the day's gains were limited as enthusiasm over reports over a Greek deal faded and investors were unmoved following some better-than-expected economic news.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a gain of 6.51 points, or 0.05 percent, to finish at 12,890.46, closing at its best level since May 2008. Earlier in the session, the blue-chip index set a new multi-year intraday high of 12,924.71.
United Tech and AmEx led the blue-chip gainers, while Cisco lagged.
The S&P 500 added 1.99 points, or 0.15 percent, to end at 1,351.95. The Nasdaq added 11.37 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 2,927.23.
The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, closed above 18.
Among the key S&P sectors, techs gained, while health care lagged.
“We seem to be overbought in the near-term, but we’re encouraged by the fact that the economic news in the U.S. continues to improve and we’re not as handicapped to what’s going on in Europe as we were in the past,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “We’ve been seeing a sideways market instead of a big pullback, so the market is catching its breath.”
Greece announced an agreement to cut costsand keep from defaulting on its debt next month, according to reports.
Meanwhile, stocks traded sideways as many traders and skeptics warned that the market had already expected the deal and said Europe still faces problems. (Read More: Markets Finally Get Greek Deal —So Where's the Big Rally?)
