THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Dow, S&P 500 Rise; S&P 600 Hits New High.(MAKING MONEY)

Byline: NANCY GONDO

NYSE stocks closed near their intraday highs Tuesday, but on lighter volume. The Dow and S&P 500 each rose 0.6%. The SmallCap S&P 600 index advanced 0.7% to an all-time closing high.

Department stores saw the biggest gains of IBD's 197 industry groups. Federated Department Stores leapt 8% and May Department Stores 5% on fast trade, after falling Monday on news of their merger. Bear Stearns and Deutsche Bank raised their ratings on Federated.

Levitt bounced off its 50-day moving average to gain 1.16 to 31.08 on twice normal volume. The home builder and land developer earns Stock Checkup's top Fundamental Rank in its 38-stock Real Estate Operations group.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange leapt 13.38 to 220, its highest close in nearly two months, on above-average trade. The biggest U.S. futures exchange said total February volume rose 50% to 3.8 million contracts per day, an all-time record month.

Caterpillar inched up 2.32 to 97.37 on brisk turnover, extending its win streak for its fifth session. The maker of construction, farming and mining gear said it'll raise prices by 1% to 5% in the spring due to rising raw ...