A late push helped US stocks finish higher after indexes spent most of the day lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high as the good narrowly outweighed the bad for the stock market.

US investors abandoned blue chips and other large-cap stocks today as a lower-than-expected consumer confidence report fed into Wall Street’s fears of an economic slowdown.

Wall Street’s holiday rally stumbled today, with stocks finishing mixed as investors worried over the strength of the pharmaceutical sector.