Tuesday's early trade: stocks near record levels

US stocks were near record levels on Tuesday, following four straight sessions of gains, as investor confidence in the US economy was reinforced following upbeat housing and manufacturing data. The S&P 500 touched a record high for the fourth straight session and was set to build on its 27% gain this year, which was driven by expectations of a US-China trade deal, a dovish Federal Reserve and upbeat economic indicators.

Data from the Fed showed manufacturing output rose more than expected in November, as General Motors' workers ending a strike boosted automobile production.

The rebound of US manufacturing is lifting investor sentiment, said Jeff Zipper, managing director of investments at US Bank Private Wealth Management in Florida.

"The path to least resistance seems to be up right now. Some of that predicated on data and (trade) tensions being less bad and that's helpful to the market."

Lower mortgage rates also helped US homebuilding rise more than expected last month, driving up shares of home improvement chains Lowe's Cos Inc and Home Depot Inc, which was the biggest boost to the Dow Jones.

Netflix Inc rose 3.5% and was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 after the streaming service provider said its growth overseas was accelerating, on the back of its Asia-Pacific business.

Financial stocks, which are known to track the health of the domestic economy rose 0.6%, and provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500.

Apple Inc hit a fresh record high and also provided a boost to Wall Street's major indexes.

At 12:50 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 78.33 points, or 0.28%, at 28,314.22, the S&P 500 was up 4.22 points, or 0.13%, at 3,195.67 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 5.45 points, or 0.06%, at 8,819.68.

Shares of Boeing Co, which said it would suspend production of its 737 MAX jet, reversed course after early losses.