It was another record day for stocks — but just barely. The Dow and Nasdaq slipped, but the S&P 500 closed at a record high after it edged up another 0.1%. J.C. Penney, which is trying to recover from a botched corporate makeover led by its former CEO, rose the most in the index after it reported sales are rising. That helped the market overcome a weak forecast from Merck and a lower earnings estimate from Roper Industries. J.C. Penney stock is still down 63% this year, though. Home builders fell after the number of people who contracted to buy previously occupied homes declined in September to the lowest level in nine months.