Oct 26 Reuters - The benchmark S&P 500 hit a record high on Tuesday, boosted by Tesla, Nvidia and other tech-related companies, while upbeat results from UPS and GE lifted optimism around the earnings season.
Hertz rose 5.4%, extending a record run that helped the electric car leader surpass $1 trillion in market value on Monday after landing its biggest order from rental car company Tesla Inc.
Chipmaker Nvidia rose 7.8% to an all-time high, while gains in Amazon, Apple and Microsoft helped tech-heavy Nasdaq outperform.
Inflation and supply chain troubles don't seem to be an issue in the near term as the market right now is just focused on the quarterly performance and with calm benchmark rates, it only helps with the mood, said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.
All 11 major S&P sectors advanced in early trading, with technology and consumer discretionary rising the most.
Some stellar earnings reports have helped drive the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs, lifting investor sentiment in October after concerns around inflation, the Fed's tapering and property group China Evergrande's crisis rattled markets last month. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is trading about 0.4% below its Sept. 7 high.
Earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to grow 35.6% year-on-year for the third quarter, with market participants assessing how companies are navigating supply-chain bottlenecks, labor shortages and inflationary pressures.
Facebook Inc slipped 1.8% as the social media giant's third-quarter revenue faced the brunt of Apple Inc's privacy rules, while advertisers were also affected by global supply chain disruptions and labor shortages.
Shares of Twitter Inc, which also generates revenue by selling digital ads, inched up 0.1% ahead of its results on Tuesday.
Eyes are also on quarterly updates from Alphabet Inc and Microsoft Corp after market close, with focus on how Google's ad revenue fares.
ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.39% to 35,879. 05 to hit a fresh all-time high. The S&P 500 gained 0.70% to 4,598. 40, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1% to 15,378. United Parcel Service Inc surged 7.1% to top the S&P 500 index after the delivery firm reported better than expected quarterly earnings and revenue, bolstered by strong e-commerce demand.
General Electric Co rose 3.5% after the industrial conglomerate raised its full-year earnings forecast.
Shares of Transformers toy maker Hasbro Inc climbed 5% after it posted an upbeat third-quarter profit even as it warned of a hit to holiday sales from supply chain issues.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.53 - to - 1 ratio on the Nasdaq and a 1.26 - to - 1 ratio on the NYSE.
The S&P index recorded 52 new 52 week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq index recorded 90 new highs and 39 new lows.