U.S. stocks rise after strong Cyber Monday sales, Powell's comments

NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, as Wall Street mainly cheered on strong sales in the holiday season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 255.93 points, or 1.09 percent, to 23,836.71. The S&P 500 rose 25.62 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,627.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 33.84 points, or 0.49 percent, to 6,912.36.

Digital transactions totaled a record 6.59 billion U.S. dollars on Monday, the largest online shopping day in the U.S. history, according to Adobe Analytics data released Tuesday.

Shares of Amazon has been rising about five percent since the holiday season kicked off this year.

Meanwhile, investors also paid close attention on Jerome Powell's confirmation hearing to become the next Federal Reserve chair.

Powell said on Tuesday that the current regulatory rules on financial institutions are tough enough and he supported easing regulatory burdens on some institutions.

"I think they're tough enough," said Powell in his confirmation hearing at the Senate Banking Committee when answering question whether any regulatory rules on financial institutions should be made tougher.

Shares of major banks rallied after Powell's remarks.

Media reported the Senate Budget Committee approved the Senate's tax plan on Tuesday, bringing the upper chamber closer to a floor vote.

On the economic front, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported Tuesday a 6.2-percent annual gain in September, up from 5.9 percent in the previous month. Enditem