The Dow Jones industrials, lifted in part by component Exxon Mobil, had their fourth consecutive record high close. The generally upbeat earnings reports of the past two weeks have helped power the blue chips as well as the rest of the stock market; today's batch of earnings also helped investors digest a pair of government reports that suggested an economic soft landing might be harder to achieve.

The market was initially inspired by data that indicated capital spending jumped by the most in more than six years, but then fell on a report that showed new home prices plunged at its steepest pace since 1970. Investors were particularly wary after the Federal Reserve, which yesterday left interest rates unchanged, said it remains concerned about inflation even as the economy is slowing.

"Things on the horizon are becoming less and less visible," said Hugh Moore, a partner with portfolio manager Guerite Advisors.

He said the economic reports point to a "slow, grinding deceleration," but for the moment stock investors are trading on optimism. This contributed to today's erratic trading — stocks spent most of the session in negative territory before a late-day rally.

Further direction about the economy will come with tomorrow's release of gross domestic product estimates.

The Dow rose 28.98, or 0.24 percent, to 12,163.66. The Dow also reached a new trading high today, 12,167.02.

Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.86, or 0.50 percent, to 1,389.08. So far this earnings season, the index's components on average have reported double-digit earnings gains for the 18th consecutive quarter.

The Nasdaq composite index added 22.51, or 0.96 percent, to 2,379.10.

Bonds rose on sentiment that economic indicators might lessen the likelihood of central bankers cutting rates early next year. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.72 percent from 4.76 percent late yesterday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

A barrel of light, sweet crude fell $1.04 to $60.36 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude advanced yesterday after a report showed an unexpected drop in inventories.

Scott Wren, equity strategist for A.G. Edwards & Sons, said both the bond and stock markets should get a much clearer picture of the economy tomorrow, when the Commerce Department will release its third-quarter gross domestic product estimates.

"There's mixed economic data out there that's not telling you one thing or another, its not telling you to take the markets higher or lower," he said. "There's still some uncertainty over what the Fed is thinking, but (tomorrow) you'll get a pretty pure read with GDP."

Higher oil prices throughout most of the third quarter helped Exxon Mobil report a profit of $10.49 billion during the period, the second largest quarterly profit ever for a U.S. company. The average market price for crude held at around $70 a barrel in the period after peaking above $78 per barrel in July.

The company's shares rose 61 cents to $71.62.

Aetna spiked $2.86, or 7.4 percent, to $41.39 after the health insurer reported a 28 percent increase in third-quarter profit. The Hartford, Conn.-based company also boosted its guidance for the full year.

Media company Clear Channel Communications Inc. said a group of private equity firms approached it about a possible takeover. Shares jumped $3.13, or 9.7 percent, to $35.48.

Microsoft Corp. reported after the markets closed that its fiscal first-quarter profit surpassed Wall Street projections. However, the software maker's expectations for the second quarter fell flat. Shares rose 4 cents to close at $28.35, but fell 10 cents in after-hours electronic trading.

Symantec Corp. shares fell $1.29, or 6.2 percent, to $19.49 after the maker of Internet security products said its earnings fell shy of Wall Street projections during the third quarter. The company said it had disappointing sales in Europe.

Red Hat Inc. shares plummeted $4.68, or 24 percent, to $14.83 after rival Oracle Corp. said it will offer low-cost technical support for Red Hat's Linux software. Oracle rose 10 cents to $18.72.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.73 billion shares compared with 1.82 billion shares at the same point yesterday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.87, or 1.16 percent, to 776.02.