Holiday Wishes on Lower Gas Prices, Stocks End at Record Highs

Record high closes for the Dow Jones and the S&P Monday. After swaying in and out of positive territories, the blue chips managed to close in the green. Crude futures for January delivery dropped $0.84. Lower gasoline prices had investors wishing more money in consumer pockets will lead to increase in holiday sales. Retailers including Macy's (M), Best Buy (BBY) and Gap (GPS) were all up in the session. Shares of United Technologies (UTX) fell on news its CEO unexpectedly quit. Year-to-date, the stock is down nearly 4.5%. No reason yet on why the sudden retirement. Lion Gate Entertainment (LGF) fell short of expectations for its third installment of Hunger Games. Ticket sales tallied at $123 million on its debut weekend. Some familiar names reporting earnings Tuesday include Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Tiffany (TIF) and Campbell Soup (CPB).