Stocks rose slightly Tuesday, pushing the Dow industrials and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index to new 18-month highs and the technology-heavy Nasdaq to its highest level in nearly two years. In economic news, the U.S. trade deficit rose to $39.7 billion in February from $37 billion the previous month. Both exports and imports rose, but the increase in imports was steeper, causing the trade imbalance to rise. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and the yen. Light sweet crude oil for May delivery fell 29 cents to $84.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for June delivery fell $8.80 to $1,153.40 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.45, or 0.1 percent, to 11,019.42. Home Depot, McDonald's, 3M, and General Electric were among the index's bigger gainers. Boeing stock fell 1 percent, and shares of Alcoa lost 1.6 percent after the aluminum producer reported a quarterly profit but revenues that missed expectations late Monday. The S&P 500 index rose 0.82, or 0.1 percent, to 1,197.30. The Nasdaq composite index rose 8.12, or 0.3 percent, to 2,465.99. Shares of Palm fell 14 percent in active trading following reports Monday that the troubled smart telephone-maker is considering selling itself. Palm shares jumped 17 percent on Monday.
