Dow Jones Index Reaches Record as Caterpillar, IBM Rally

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crawled back to a record, helped along by last year’s worst-performing stocks: International Business Machines Corp. and Caterpillar Inc.

Four months after reaching its previous closing high of 16,576.66, the 30-stock gauge eclipsed the level yesterday, rising 0.3 percent to 16,580.84. It was the index’s third straight increase, coming after the Federal Reserve said it would continue to trim the pace of bond purchases as the economy gains momentum.