STOCKS CLIMB TO ALL-TIME HIGHS: Here's What You Need To Know

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 16,206.3 (+103.0, +0.6%)
• S&P 500: 1,847.6 (+11.4, +0.6%)
• Nasdaq: 4,292.9 (+29.5, +0.6%)

And now the top stories:

• During the first half-hour of trading, the S&P 500 broke through its all-time high of 1,850. It got as got as high as 1,858 before settling down.
• The Dallas Fed's general business activity index fell to 0.3 in February from 3.8 in January. This was worse than the 3.0 expected by economists. As expected, survey respondents blamed weather. From one manufacturer: "The extreme weather throughout the U.S. impacted our ability to receive components needed in our manufacturing process. Weather also impacted revenue, as customers are unable to deploy products, resulting in increased inventory in the distribution channels and reduced requirements for manufacturing."
• Markit's Flash (or preliminary) U.S. services PMI slipped to 52.7 in February from 56.7 in January. "Although the latest data pointed to a slowdown in service sector output growth since January, survey respondents widely cited the negative influence of recent weather-related disruptions," said Markit in the release. "Moreover, a robust increase in new business volumes and continued job hiring suggested that underlying demand remained resilient. February data meanwhile indicated one of the fastest increases in backlogs of work since the survey began in late 2009, which added to the signs that weaker activity growth reflected temporary weather disruptions."
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