S&P 500 ends at record again; financials, Apple lead

Financial shares led the way after Bank of America's settlement with MBIA, pushing S&P above 1,600

The S&P 500 closed at another record high, pushing further above 1,600 as financial shares led the way after Bank of America's settlement with MBIA.

Apple's advance helped lift both the S&P and the Nasdaq.

Bank of America said it would settle claims with MBIA for $1.6 billion, lifting shares of both companies as well as the S&P financial sector Index, which gained 1%. MBIA shares jumped 45.4% to $14.29 and Bank of America shares rose 5.2% to $12.88.

Apple shares were also among the top gainers after Barclays raised its price target on the stock. Apple shares shot up 2.4% to $460.71, leading both the Nasdaq composite index and the benchmark S&P 500 higher.

The day's gains followed a strong run in stocks since the start of the year. Supportive monetary policies that have kept interest rates low as well as solid earnings have helped to keep the market up. The S&P 500 has gained 13.4% since December 31.

"As long as you continue to have decent earnings reports and the support from central banks around the world providing liquidity, it's going to be hard to derail this market, at least in the short term," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 5.07 points, or 0.03%, to 14,968.89 at the close. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched up 3.08 points, or 0.19%, to finish at a record 1,617.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 14.34 points, or 0.42%, to close at 3,392.97.

During the session, the S&P 500 also reached an all-time intraday high of 1,619.77.

Although weak economic data from the euro zone and China has caused concerns over the global growth outlook, Friday's stronger-than-expected US payrolls report fueled the gains that drove both the Dow and the S&P 500 to record levels.

Warren Buffett said on Monday that low interest rates have made bonds "terrible" investments, but stocks are "reasonably priced," and he continues to shy away from sectors such as media, where he cannot predict which will thrive in the long run.

But some analysts suspect the rally has little strength to keep going on.

The market "is discounting a tremendous amount of good news now, which I don't think is going to be substantiated, and I don't think it's allowing for any possibilty of bad news," said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners in New York.

Earnings have been mostly higher than expected, with 68.5% of companies surpassing estimates so far. At the same time, second-quarter estimates have fallen as outlooks remain more negative than positive.

Among Monday's reports, Tyson Foods Inc posted a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its full-year sales forecast. Its shares declined 3.3% to $24.10.

In contrast, Humana Inc jumped 2.1% to $75.49 as one of the S&P 500's biggest%age gainers. JPMorgan upgraded the stock to "overweight."

But Johnson & Johnson shares slid 1.3% to $84.68, weighing on the blue-chip Dow average.

GM's stock also declined. The US Treasury said it will begin another round of sales of General Motors stock acquired during the government's bailout of the auto sector.