The record close came on the 19th anniversary of the stock market crash of 1987, in which the Dow fell 508 points, or 22.6% to 1,738.40.

The Dow industrials rose 19.05 points to 12,011.73 led by gains for Coca-Cola and Altria Group while both AT&T and Verizon Communications rallied on upbeat commentary from broker Lehman Bros.

The Nasdaq Composite Index eked out a late-day gain to end up 3.79 points at 2,340.94 while the S&P 500 Index rose 0.94 point to 1,366.90.

"We're a little bit tentative around 12,000 because I do think the market is a little overdone in the near term," said Barry Hyman, equity market strategist at EKN Financial Services. "But a lot of companies are beating expectations giving us the likelihood of double-digit earnings growth in the third quarter, and possibly another quarter of double-digit growth in the fourth."

Hyman said his optimism is based on the recent performance of the bond market where benchmark yields have been rising.

"This suggests the economy is not weakening as much as people expected and that we may get something a little bit better than a soft landing which will help to power earnings."

At the same time, said Hyman, the market does seem to be hitting something of a wall after the gains of the last three months. "We are seeing some 'sell on the news' action rather than really rallying into the earnings."

The latest data appeared to confirm a slowing trend in the economy.

The factory sector in the Philadelphia region was flat for a second straight month in October, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported. The Philly Fed index fell to negative 0.7 from negative 0.4 in September. Readings below zero indicate most firms surveyed are contracting. Economists expected the index to bounce back to 7.8.

The details, however, were better than the headline.

The new orders index rose to 13.4 in October vs. negative 1.3 in September. The shipments index rose to 5.3 in October vs. negative 6.8 in September. The price paid index fell to 32.0 in October vs. 38.1 in September. See full story.

The index of leading indicators, a gauge of future growth, rose 0.1% in September after falling in July and August, the Conference Board said. The index has dropped in five of the past eight months, and is down 0.9% in the past six months.

"The behavior of the leading index so far suggests that economic growth should continue at the slow rate in the near term," the New York-based private research group said. See full story.

But there was better news on the employment front with an unexpected decline in jobless claims for the latest week. See full story.

On the broader market for equities, advancers outpaced decliners by 5 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange, and by 17 to 12 on the Nasdaq.

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The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.1% in September after falling in July and August. The index has dropped in five of the past eight months, and is down 0.9% in the past six months.

Economists expected the leading index to rise 0.3%, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch.

The leading index fell 0.2% in August and 0.3% in July.

"The behavior of the leading index so far suggests that economic growth should continue at the slow rate in the near term," the New York-based private research group said.

Five of the 10 leading indicators rose in September: Consumer expectations, money supply, stock prices, jobless claims and core capital equipment orders.

Five others fell: Building permits, factory working hours, delivery times, the interest-rate spread and new orders for consumer goods.

In the past six months, 45% of the indicators have been positive.

The coincident index was unchanged in September, with falling industrial production offsetting gains in income, sales and employment.

The lagging index rose 0.2% in September.

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The Dow industrials shot above 12,000 for the first time in the opening minutes of trade. It later traded as high as 12,049.51, before breaking stride and closing up 42.66 points at 11,992.68.

The Nasdaq Composite Index finished down 7.80 points at 2,337.15, pressured by weakness among some technology sector stocks, and the S&P 500 Index inched up 1.91 point to 1,365.96.

James Park, managing director at Rodman & Renshaw, said it's normal for the market to hit resistance at these levels.

On the broader market for equities, advancers outpaced decliners by nine to seven on the New York Stock Exchange, but there were 15 decliners for every 14 stocks rising on the Nasdaq.

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