Dow Ends at Record High, JCPenney Plummets

U. S. stocks advanced on Tuesday, with the Dow closing at a record high on a rally in cyclical  shares and as the first impressions of the earnings season were positive. The Dow Jones  industrial average gained 59.98 points, or 0.41 percent, to end at 14,673.46, a record closing  high. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 5.54 points, or 0.35 percent, to finish at  1,568.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 15.61 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 3,237.86.

Troubled merchant JCPenney last night announced that CEO Ron Johnson would be leaving effective  immediately in a move that comes at a critical time for the company.

Levi Strauss & Co. said Tuesday its first-quarter net income more than doubled despite a 2
percent drop in revenue. For the quarter ended Feb. 24, the privately held company earned $107  million, up from $49 million in the same quarter the year before. Revenue slipped to $1.15  billion from $1.17 billion.

Chrysler is recalling about 30,000 small SUVs because a faulty hose inside the gas tank can  cause them to run out of fuel.

A New Hampshire jury on Tuesday found Exxon Mobil Corp liable for $236.4 million in a civil  lawsuit that charged the oil company had polluted groundwater in the state with a gasoline  additive, a lawyer for the state said.