U.S. stocks: Dow industrials, S&P 500 close at records

Santa continued to shower gifts on stock-market investors, as the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average once again closed at record levels.

The Dow industrials DJIA, +0.13%  closed 23 points, or 0.1%, higher at 18,053, their 38th record close of the year.

The S&P 500 SPH5, +0.33%  gained 6.89 points, or 0.3%, to 2,088.7, its 52nd record close. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.70% gained 33.39 points, or 0.7%, to close at 4,806.8.