India, Jan. 12 -- Stocks moved to the downside at the start of trading on Monday but showed a notable recovery over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session and into positive territory, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained positive. The Dow rose 86.13 points or 0.2 percent to 49,590.29, the Nasdaq climbed 62.56 points or 0.3 percent to 23,733.90 and the S&P 500 increased 10.99 points or 0.2 percent to 6,977.27.

The initial pullback on Wall Street partly reflected concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence after Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed that the U.S. central bank ...