Wall Street hits milestone

Wall Street reached another milestone during a muted session today, when the Standard & Poor's 500 index briefly passed its record close of 1,527.46 for the first time in more than seven years.

The S&P 500, considered by market professionals the best indicator of stock performance, surpassed the mark shortly after noon following a fresh spate of takeover deals. The broad market index has lagged the Dow Jones industrial average in recovering from the prolonged stock slump earlier this decade.