NEW YORK (AP) – The Dow Jones industrial average surged past its all-time trading high of 11,750.28 Tuesday, taking yet another step in its recovery from seven years of market turmoil.

The index of 30 blue chip stocks moved into uncharted territory after briefly passing its record high close of 11.722.98 on Thursday and Monday. Both records were set on Jan. 14, 2000, before the stock market began a precipitous decline caused by the dot-com bust and recession and worsened by the aftermath of terrorism and corporate scandals.

While investors welcomed the Dow’s latest achievement, it came in a stock market that is more conservative, even more muted, than the Wall Street of early 2000. At that time, investors were still piling exuberantly into high-tech stocks. In 2006, the market’s gains come only after investors’ careful parsing of economic data and corporate earnings reports.

Tuesday’s advance came on the second straight day that oil prices fell sharply, helping to calm fears about inflation and possible interest rate increases. But the market as a whole has been choppy, with traditionally defensive sectors such as pharmaceuticals and utilities leading the market higher since its May and June decline, said Doug Johnston, head of U.S. trading at Adams Harkness in Boston.

“I think we break out to the all-time high, then we could get a blow-off correction off of that,” Mr. Johnston said.

The Dow, whose well-known large-cap stocks include aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., discount retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the Walt Disney Co., has recovered ahead of the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq composite index, which also peaked in early 2000. Those indexes were inflated – overinflated in the case of the Nasdaq – by the dot-com bubble.

The S&P 500’s high close was 1,527.46, and the index remains more than 12 percent away from that milestone. The Nasdaq is even farther off its highs and no one expects to it Nasdaq eclipse its record of 5,048.62 any time soon.

To reach new highs, the Dow had to recover not only from the high-tech collapse, but also recession and the effects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The stock market was further shaken by corporate scandals at companies including Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc., and the Dow sank to a five-year closing low of 7,286.27 on Oct. 9, 2002, nearly 38 percent off its record high close.

The market’s recovery was helped by more than four years of solid corporate profit growth, and more recently, the Federal Reserve’s decision to halt its more than two-year string of interest rate hikes.

In midafternoon trading Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 78.52, or 0.67 percent, at 11,748.87.

Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 6.08, or 0.46 percent, at 1,337.40, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 12.15, or 0.54 percent, to 2,249.75.

Advancing issues led decliners by more than 9 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.15 billion shares.

Bonds fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.62 percent from 4.61 percent late Monday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Crude oil futures dropped, with a barrel of light crude quoted at $58.70, down $2.33, in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The oil sector was lower, with Exxon Mobil Corp. down $1.09 at $65.91 and Chevron Corp. down 94 cents at $63.57.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. fell $2.59, or 13.57 percent, to $16.50 after it said its third-quarter revenue would drop 10 percent from its second-quarter revenue. Separately, the company also said it plans to restate past financial results after a probe into its historical stock option practices turned up discrepancies.

Quest Diagnostics Inc., which provides diagnostic testing services, was down $8.51, or 13.97 percent, at $52.39 after losing a nationwide contract with health insurer UnitedHealthcare Inc. The existing agreement expires at the end of the year.

One bright spot, Kohl’s Corp., said its sales at stores open at least a year, a closely watched measure of retail performance, rose 16.3 percent in September. The low-price chain, which also boosted its third-quarter profit forecast, rose $1.25 to $66.74.

But retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc. had worse news. The company discontinued its dividend as it works to boost liquidity. The stock was down 17 cents at $7.57.

Fresh concerns about the upcoming release of Sony Corp.’s much-anticipated PlayStation 3 video game console and reports of erratic performance dragged Sony shares down 51 cents to $39.22.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.72, or 0.38 percent, to 721.53.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average closed down 0.08 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.35 percent, Germany’s DAX index was down 0.12 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.45 percent.