The S&P 500 index hovered near record levels on Tuesday, lifted by gains in bank and technology shares, with a strong second-quarter earnings season fuelling optimism about the strength in the US economy.
The index was up 0.43 percent at 2,862.69, about half a percent shy of the record it hit on Jan. 26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which rose 0.68 percent, is still 3.6 percent below its life high.
A sharp rally in tech stocks has already helped Nasdaq recover much faster than the broader markets, hitting a record high late last month. The index was up 0.39 percent at 7,890.03.
The financial sector rose 0.91 percent and boosted the benchmark index as higher yields on the 10-year US treasury note buoyed bank stocks.
JPMorgan rose 0.4 percent and Bank of America 0.2 percent.
On the technology front, Google-parent Alphabet rose 2.1 percent and Microsoft 0.7 percent, driving a 0.44 percent gain in the sector.
A strong earnings season has helped US stocks cushion some of the impact from the ongoing trade issues.
Of the 428 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, 79 percent have topped estimates. If the beat rate holds, it will be the highest on record, dating back to the first quarter of 1994, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Tesla's shares jumped 5.4 percent after Elon Musk in a tweet said that he is considering taking the company private.
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