Wall Street ends with strong gains amid solid earnings reports

Major equity indexes in the U.S. extended their record setting rallies on Tuesday on the back of strong earnings reports from major corporations and some robust data from the U.S.

Today's data released by the Conference Board revealed that the U.S. consumer confidence improved in July amid optimism over the labor market and helped the risk appetite remain high during the day.

Caterpillar and Mc Donalds carried the S&P 500 Index to its record high at 2,481.24 during the session and the index closed the day at 2,474, up 0.22%, or 5.5 points. Better-than-expected second quarter EPS and revenue numbers from both of these companies pushed their shares more than 5%.

Although the Nasdaq Composite Index refreshed its intra-day record at 6,425.45 points, it erased the majority of its daily gains amid the decline (-2.4%) witnessed in the heavy-weight Google to close at 6,412.17, +1.37 (0.02%). In the meantime, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added rose 100.26 points, or 0.47%, to 21,613.43.

Commenting on the earnings reports, "it feels like people are maybe getting a little more optimistic that things are, if not improving dramatically, then at least holding pretty steady in the economy and that would be pretty good for stocks," William Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird in Milwaukee, told Reuters.

Headlines from the U.S. session:

• US Pres. Trump: Yellen "absolutely" in running to stay as Fed Chair - CNBC
• US Dollar remains near session highs after healthcare vote
• US: Senate votes 'yes' (51-50) on motion to proceed with healthcare debate
• US: Consumers remain upbeat - Wells Fargo
• This week's US and EZ PMI's reviewed - UOB
• Wages one of the biggest conundrums for Fed - ING
• Fed will not hike until Dec - ING
• US: Home prices continue steady appreciation - Wells Fargo
• US Consumer confidence unphased by political noise - ING
• Manufacturing firms remained generally upbeat in July - Richmond Fed