S&P 500 closes at a record as investors snap up dividend-rich utility stocks

Published September 05, 2014 Associated Press

The Standard & Poor's 500 index is closing at a record after a surge in dividend-rich utility stocks.

The stock market also got a lift from a cease-fire agreement between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists, aimed at bringing an end to nearly five months of fighting.

The S&P 500 index rose 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,007 Friday.

The tech-dominated Nasdaq rose 20 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,582.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,137.

Investors bought up utility stocks after the government reported that U.S. employers added fewer jobs than forecast for August. That boosted demand for bonds and pushed down their yields. In turn, stocks with big dividends became more attractive.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/09/05...tility-stocks/