US stocks jump during early trade, Dow hits fresh record highs

US stocks witnessed a mixed opening on Tuesday, with the Dow moving into record territory shortly after the opening bell while Nasdaq Composite struggling to push higher. 

Broader markets were being supported by better-than-expected results from Caterpillar and McDonald’s while weakness in Google's parent company, Alphabet was seen weighing on tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.

   •  US Stocks: Tuesday's Q2 earning results mostly above estimates

During the early hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over 100-points to 21,619, while the broader S&P 500 Index added 7-points to 2,477. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Composite Index ticked 3-points lower to 6,408.

With a raft of better-than-expected quarterly earnings report justifying the recent record setting rally, the Wall Street's so-called 'fear gauge', Volatility Index (VIX) tumbled to the lowest level since 1993 on Tuesday. 

Adding to this, a strong rally in oil prices, with WTI crude oil holding comfortably above the $47.00 mark remained supportive of investors' appetite for riskier assets - like equities.

The FOMC kick-off two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. Investors would keenly scrutinize the accompanying statement in order to gauge possibilities of additional rate hike action in 2017 and reinforcement of the central bank's intention to reduce its massive balance sheet from September.