Stocks close at record highs as U.S. hiring surges

Cedar Fair officials ring closing bell

7/2/2014

In this Monday, June 30, 2014 photo, trader John Liotti, center, and specialist Donald Civitanova, right, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. World stocks were mostly higher Wednesday, July 2, 2014, on improved U.S. and Chinese economic activity. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Stocks are closing at record levels following news that business hiring surged in June.

Officials from Cedar Fair LP, which owns Cedar Point and other amusement parks across the country, rang the closing bell today for the New York Stock Exchange. They did it outside of Cedar Point in Sandusky.

The company's stock, which trades under the ticker symbol FUN, closed at $52.63 a share today, down 17 cents.

Constellation Brands, the owner of Corona and Negra Modelo beer, rose 2 percent after the company said its income soared in the latest quarter.

Delta Air Lines dropped 5 percent after the company said growth in a key revenue figure slowed in June.

The Dow rose 20 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 16,976 today.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose a point to 1,974. The Nasdaq composite edged down a point to 4,457.

Payroll processer ADP said U.S. businesses added 281,000 jobs last month, up from 179,000 in the previous month.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.62 percent.