Stocks finished modestly higher across the board Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 logging fresh five-year highs, lifted by optimism for more M&A deals and after positive economic data from Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished above the psychologically-important 14,000 level, led by Cisco and Merck. The Dow is within 1 percent of its all-time closing high of 14,164.53 hit on October 9, 2007.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also closed in positive territory. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, slid near 12.
