S&P Closed at Record with Eye on Greece

U.S. stocks ticked higher on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 to a record closing high above 2,100 as optimism grew that a debt deal would be reached with Greece. At close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 28.23 points, or 0.16%, to 18,047.58. The S&P 500 gained 3.35 points, or 0.16%, to 2,100.34. The Nasdaq Composite was up 5.43 points, or 0.11%, to 4,899.27.

Oil closed up after a weak start on Tuesday, with Brent crude rising to a 2015 high of $63  a barrel. Brent oil’s front-month contract for April delivery (LCOc1) settled up $1.13 at $62.53 a barrel, rebounding from the day’s low of $60.27.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) bears the highest potential hazard to the financial system, a study by a U.S. government research agency showed, launching its first ranking of U.S. banks with a numerical risk score.

The builder confidence in the United States for the newly-built, single-family homes dropped in the month of February, resulting into a four-month low, because of the harsh weather conditions prevailing in the country. According to the report, the builder sentiment index dropped two points to 55 in February.