United States stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes toward record closing highs, on optimism over corporate earnings and as commodities gained amid a report showing China’s inflation slowed.
Raw-materials producers rose by 1.2 per cent amid speculation that tamed inflation would reduce pressure on Chinese policy makers to tighten credit.
Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, that Microsoft Corporation and Intel Corporation rallied by more than 3.4 per cent as investors snapped up technology shares, the worst performing group this year.
Alcoa Incorporated was unchanged after posting earnings. J.C. Penney Company slumped by 11 per cent after ousting Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson and reinstating his predecessor, Myron E. Ullman III.
The S&P 500 rose by 0.5 per cent to 1,571.01 at 2:14 p.m. in New York, poised for the highest close ever.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 84.44 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 14,697.92. Trading in the S&P 500 was in line with the 30-day average during this time of day.