Wall St. Inches Up With Financials; Earnings in Focus<br />NEW YORK — All three major U. S. stock index rose to record closing highs on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average less than 50 points below 23,000, ahead of a long list of earnings this week<br />and as financial shares recovered from last week’s losses.<br />The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 85.24 points, or 0.37 percent, to close at 22,956.96, the S&P 500 gained 4.47 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,557.64<br />and the Nasdaq Composite added 18.20 points, or 0.28 percent, to 6,624.01.<br />The reporting period heats up this week, and with the S&P 500 already up 14 percent so far this year, investors are hoping results<br />and guidance will justify the relatively high valuation of stocks.<br />The S&P 500 financial index rose 0.6 percent after three days of losses.
