Dow, S&P 500 hit new post-crash highs

NEW YORK: US stocks pushed higher Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 to their best levels in more than five years.

US markets kept alive a rally in Europe, where shares rose in all the main exchanges helped by news of soaring investor sentiment in Germany.

Also sparking trade were reports of another possible big merger, of office supply retailers Office Depot and OfficeMax.

At the closing bell the Dow was up 53.99 points (0.39 percent) at 14,035.75, its best level since October 12, 2007.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 11.12 points (0.73 percent) to 1,530.91 -- its highest level since October 31, 2007 -- and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite increased 21.56 (0.68 percent) to 3,213.59.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2013