S&P 500 only about 18 points shy of new record high

The S&P 500 moved in on a new, all-time high Tuesday as hopes rise on Wall Street for low interest rates for longer and oil prices continue to surge.

The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 stock index ended up nearly 3 points, or 0.1%, to 2112.13.  The large-company stock index is edging ever closer to its record closing high of 2130.82, which it notched over a year ago on May 21, 2015. The bull market that began in March 2009 is now in its seventh year and ranks as the second-longest ever.

Also finishing the day up 0.1% was the Dow Jones industrial average, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%.

The S&P 500, which got off to its worst start to a year ever in 2016, is back in rally mode. The recent gains have been driven by hints from the Federal Reserve that its next interest rate hike is unlikely when it meets next week. On Monday, Fed chair Janet Yellen reiterated that gradual rate hikes are still appropriate if the labor market and U.S. economy can continue to strengthen and bounce back from a recent soft patch. Yellen, however, did not specify a timetable for the next hike, which Wall Street interpreted as a signal that the next hike is not imminent.

Yellen: Weak jobs report 'concerning;' gradual hikes still appropriate

"Markets reacted favorably to the speech which makes sense," says Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Asset Management Group. "Some of the markets struggles early in the year can be attributed to fears about a Fed policy error, or tightening too much for the U.S. to withstand. Raising rates when the economy is solid should not pose a problem for stocks. Yellen did a good job of walking the dove/hawk tightrope and not upsetting market expectations. Now the Fed goes into a quiet period, so the next set of market moving events from them will be the June 15 meeting statement and the accompanying press conference and updated (economic) forecasts, or dot plots."

A continued bounce back in U.S. crude prices is also driving stocks higher, as energy shares and investor sentiment get a lift from better news and signs of stability in the oil patch. A barrel of U.S.-produced crude was up 40 cents, or 0.8%, to $50.09 per barrel Tuesday.

Stocks also rallied around the globe following Yellen's comments Monday, which put cold water on the idea of a rate hike next week.

In Europe, the broad Stoxx Europe 600 index was 1.1% higher. In Asia, stocks closed higher in Japan, Hong Kong and mainland China.