In U.S. stocks, the S&P 500.........>

US STOCKS CLOSE: In U.S. stocks, the S&P 500 closed Tuesday up 0.01% at

2,496.84, after trading in a 2,495.12 to 2,503.51 range. The index posted a

record intraday high of 2,508.85 September 20 and saw a low of 2,488.03 Monday,

which was a two week low. At Tuesday's close, the S&P 500 was up 11.5%

year-to-date.

- Market players also monitored the Russell 2000 index, which often leads larger

stock swings. The Russell 2000 was last near 1,457, down from the new record

high of 1,460.950 posted earlier. Last month, the index bottomed at 1,349.354 on

August 18, the lowest level since April 17, when the Russell 2000 bottomed at

1,345.363. From last month's low to Tuesday's high, the index was up 8.3%.

- On risk appetite, the CBOE's volatility index or VIX was last at 10.20, on the

low side of a 9.94 to 10.68 range. More recently, the VIX has traded in a 9.50,

seen Sept. 22 to 11.25, seen Sept. 25 range and has held below its 200-day

moving average, currently at 11.45.