S&P 500 over 2100 for first time since December

The stock market turned in a mixed performance Tuesday but it was still enough to push the benchmark S&P 500 above the 2100 level for the first time since December.

The Dow Jones industrial average pushed further above 18,000 after crossing that level Monday for the first time since July. The Dow and Standard & Poor's 500 posted their fifth gain out of the past six sessions.

The Dow ended up 0.3% at 18,054, less than 300 points from its record closing high of 18,312.39 set last May. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 2100.80. The Nasdaq composite continues to lag and fell 0.4%.

Dow 18,772! 6 stocks expected to do it

Crude oil prices advanced following a drop in the previous session despite a failure by oil-producing nations to agree on limiting output at a weekend meeting in Qatar.

Benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.20 to $40.98 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 58 cents, or 1.4%, to close at $39.78 a barrel on Monday.

Analysts say oil is starting to lose its grip on the stock market as focus shifts back to first-quarter earnings season. This week, some 20% of S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report first-quarter results. On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson were among the major companies delivering earnings news.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged 3.7% to 16,874.44, boosted by a weakening of the yen, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.3% to 21,436.21. The Shanghai composite index gained 0.3% to 3,042.82.

European markets were higher with Britain’s FTSE 100 up 0.8% to 6,405. Germany’s DAX jumped 2.3% to 10,350 and France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3% to 4566.

U.S. stocks closed higher Monday, boosted by energy companies’ rally.

Contributing: Associated Press