Dow closes above 15,000 for first time

A board on a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the Dow Jones industrial average with an intraday number above 15,000, Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Tuesday closed above 15,000 for the first time, as investor optimism about the US economy bolstered equities like Caterpillar. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK—The Dow Jones Industrial Average Tuesday closed above 15,000 for the first time, as investor optimism about the US economy bolstered equities like Caterpillar.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 86.01 (0.57 percent) to 15,054.90.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 8.38 (0.52 percent) at 1,625.88, a new all-time closing high, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite rose 3.66 (0.11 percent) to 3,396.63.

“We are continuing to see somewhat of a rotation into more of the cyclical names over the last week,” said David Levy of Kenjol Capital Management, who cited Caterpillar as an example.

Dow member Caterpillar, which sells construction equipment and other industrial materials, rose 2.5 percent.