Dow Sees Highest Close on Record

Technology companies plunged Thursday, and high-dividend stocks also took hefty losses as bond yields rose to their highest level in more than a year, the AP reports. But more big gains for blue-chip banking and oil stocks pulled the Dow Jones industrial average to a record high. Big names like Facebook and Oracle fell as technology companies took their biggest losses in two months. Rising bond yields pushed income-seeking investors away from real estate and utility companies. Health care stocks also slumped. Banks continued to soar as investors expect them to make bigger profits on loans as interest rates rise. Oil prices climbed for the second day after the countries of OPEC agreed to trim oil production next year.

Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist for Voya Investment Strategies, said a focus on President-elect Donald Trump's trade policies might be hurting tech stocks. On Thursday Trump toured a Carrier factory in Indiana after announcing the company will keep some operations at the facility instead of moving them to Mexico. "If you're going to bring jobs back to America and make stuff here, tech is going to be pretty vulnerable," she said. "If there's going to be a trade war, tech is pretty vulnerable." The Dow gained 68.35 points, or 0.4%, to 19,191.93, its highest close on record. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 7.73 points, or 0.4%, to 2,191.08. The Nasdaq composite fell 72.57 points, or 1.4%, to 5,251.11. (More Dow Jones stories.)