Investing.com – Wall Street closed at record highs on Tuesday led by financials as investors cheered signs the market would deliver a strong quarter of earnings amid a recent raft of corporate earnings that topped expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 25,385.80. The S&P 500 closed 0.13% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 7163.58, up 0.09%.
With just a few days remaining until JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) unofficially kick off earnings season on Jan. 12, investors piled into financials, driving the broader market higher, betting that banks would deliver a solid quarter of earnings.
The strong day in financials came as Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) reported same-stores sales rose 3.4% during holiday period, topping estimates. That reaffirmed investor expectations for strong quarter for earnings from retailers following Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) bullish update Monday.
Tax reform has been one of the key catalysts supporting sentiment on corporate earnings amid expectations that companies will ramp up share buy backs and capital expenditure, boosting earnings growth.
In corporate news, Boeing (NYSE:BA) closed 2% higher after reporting aircraft deliveries rose to an all-time high last year, while its backlog at the end of 2017 rose to a record high of 5,864 commercial airplanes. The backlog of orders reportedly totals seven years' worth of production.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) up 2.7%, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) up 1.6% and General Electric (NYSE:GE) up 1.5%
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) down 2.5%, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) down 1.2%, and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) down 0.7%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.