Wall Street’s three major indexes closed higher on Tuesday (US time) as improving economic data and the prospect of more stimulus bolstered hopes of a swift recovery, while a jump in technology shares powered the Nasdaq to another record high.
While all the indices pared gains late in the session to close below their peaks for the day, the Nasdaq managed to register its fifth record high close this month. Apple provided the biggest boost followed by Amazon.com and Microsoft.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 131.14 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 26,156.1, the S&P 500 gained 13.43 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 3,131.29 and the Nasdaq Composite added 74.89 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 10,131.37.
The Australian sharemarket is poised to inch higher, with futures at 6.30am AEST pointing to a gain of 5 points or 0.1 per cent, at the open. On Tuesday, the ASX added 0.2 per cent.
Data showed that the pace of contraction in the US manufacturing and services sectors slowed in June as businesses reopened after lockdowns that started in mid-March.
Also, new home sales jumped 16.6 per cent in May, blowing past estimates of a 2.9 per cent rise.
Spirit AeroSystems fell 13.3 per cent after the company, which is Boeing Co’s top supplier, said it was seeking relief from lenders as its finances were stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic and a 737 MAX production halt.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.53-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.22-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 142 new highs and eight new lows.
On US exchanges 12.07 billion shares changed hands compared with the 13.29 billion average for the last 20 sessions.
