Investing.com – US stocks closed at record highs on Tuesday, as better-than-expected corporate earnings and bullish housing sector data lifted sentiment on equities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 23,597.71. The S&P 500 closed 0.59% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6862.48, up 1%.
Blue chips such as Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT), Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) and Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) posted earnings that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines, setting the a positive for the broader market.
On the economic front, investors cheered a report from the Commerce Department showing existing home sales increased 2% in October from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 548 million units. Economists were expecting a 0.7% rise to 5.42 million homes.
Also adding to the rally in equities was a surge in tech stocks as investors expect tech companies such Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to benefit from the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Despite recent concerns over tax reform weighing on equities, analysts expect the rally to continue through next year amid bullish expectations on profits and valuations.
Goldman Sachs’ David Kostin said that rising corporate profits and valuations amid a strengthening economy would likely push the S&P 500 to 2,850.
In corporate earnings news, investors look ahead to the release of quarterly results from HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) and Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) after the closing bell.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) up 1.8%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) up 1.3% and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) up 1.3%
Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) down 1.8%, General Electric (NYSE:GE) down 0.8% and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) down 0.1%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.