Dow, S&P 500 at fresh records on solid US, German data

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP)

NEW YORK: The Dow and S&P 500 on Tuesday (Nov 18) closed at fresh records following solid economic data from Germany and the US.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 40.07 points (0.23 per cent) at 17,687.82, besting a record set last week by about 35 points. The S&P 500 gained 10.48 points (0.51 per cent) to 2,051.80, notching its third straight record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 31.44 points (0.67 per cent) to 4,702.44.

US homebuilder confidence rose by four points to 58, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

Germany's DAX 30 rose 1.6 per cent as investor confidence in Europe's biggest economy jumped back into positive territory in November after reaching a 22-month low in October, according to the ZEW economic institute.

Brent Schutte, market strategist at BMO Global Asset Management, said the market was also cheered by news that Japan would delay a sales tax increase. "I think today it was what's happening outside the US that actually propelled the US market higher," he said.

Home Depot, a Dow component, fell 2.1 per cent after reporting third-quarter earnings of US$1.15 per share that bested analyst expectations by two cents.

The home improvement retailer said it could not yet estimate the costs of the breach of its systems, in which cybercriminals stole 56 million credit card numbers and 53 million email addresses. Home Depot said expenses could include reimbursements for credit card fraud and future civil litigation.

Medical equipment supplier Medtronic rose 4.7 per cent after reporting second-quarter earnings of 96 cents per share, matching expectations. Medtronic also said it still planned to proceed with the acquisition of Ireland-based Covidien despite US Treasury rules discouraging transactions designed to relocate to lower-tax jurisdictions.

Solar energy company SunEdison surged 29.3 per cent after it and its subsidiary TerraForm Power announced a deal to purchase First Wind, a leading developer of wind projects in the US, for US$2.4 billion.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dipped to 2.32 per cent from 2.34 per cent on Monday, while the 30-year fell to 3.04 per cent from 3.06 per cent. Bond yields and prices move inversely.