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U.S. stocks close at record highs amid earnings reports

Xinhua, February 22, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks extended gains on Tuesday, notching fresh record highs, as investors mainly digested a slew of corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 118.95 points, or 0.58 percent, to 20,743.00. The S&P 500 rose 14.22 points, or 0.60 percent, to 2,365.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 27.37 points, or 0.47 percent, to 5,865.95.

Home Depot, a home improvement retailer, released quarterly results on Tuesday. The company reported sales of 22.2 billion dollars for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 and net earnings of 1.7 billion dollars, exceeding Wall Street expectations.

Shares of Macy's ended slightly lower, after the retail giant posted mixed quarterly financial results before the opening bell on Tuesday.

Macy' s reported fourth quarter 2016 earnings per diluted share of 1.54 U.S. dollars, beating market estimates, but sales fell short on forecast.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 are expected to rise 7.5 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase 4.3 percent.

In economic news, the flash read on the Markit U.S. purchasing managers' index hit 54.3 for February, falling slightly from January's 55.8.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, increased 0.70 percent to end at 11.57 on Tuesday.

The market was closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.

U.S. stocks continued to be on a record-setting trajectory for the past week, with all three major indices closing at record highs for three times out of the five sessions, as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's remarks and a batch of economic data from the country. Endite