NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record on Tuesday as the floodgates opened for companies reporting how much profit they made during the summer.

The Dow rose 218 points, or 0.5%, and topped its prior all-time high, which was set early this month. The S&P 500 index, which is much more important on Wall Street and dictates the performance of many more 401(k) accounts, was essentially flat and finished 0.3% below its own record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.

3M helped drive the Dow to its record after reporting bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock had the biggest jump in price among the 30 companies that make up the average.

In the more representative S&P 500 index, General Motors helped lead the way and rallied 14.9% after

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