Nasdaq Closes Above 7,000 For First Time

NEW YORK (AP) - Stock indexes closed higher on the first trading day of 2018, led by gains in big technology companies.

Retailers also led the way higher Tuesday. Nordstrom rose 3.7 percent, while Facebook gained 2.8 percent and Apple rose 1.8 percent.

The gains were enough to set all-time highs for the Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite.

Natural gas prices climbed as cold weather continued to grip large parts of the U.S.

The S&P 500 index rose 22 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,695.

The Dow Jones industrial average increased 104 points, or 0.4 percent, to 24,824. The Nasdaq climbed 103 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,006.

A sign welcoming Facebook is flashed on a screen outside the NASDAQ stock exchange at Times Square in New York, May 18, 2012. Facebook is set to go public on May 18, 2012 and is likely to have an estimated market valuation of over 100 billion USD when its shares begin trading on the NASDAQ. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.46 percent.