Wall Street's equity benchmarks hit fresh all-time highs on Tuesday amid gains in the technology sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 51,307.8, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 7,609.8. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a small gain to settle just above the flatline at 27,093.9. All three indexes logged new closing highs.
Most sectors ended in the green, led by utilities, while communication services saw the biggest decline. Tech gained 0.9%.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE) shares jumped nearly 20%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. Late Monday, the IT company lifted its full-year outlook and reported stronger-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results.
"The biggest takeaway from the quarter was that (Hewlett Packard) is benefiting from the same pricing dynamic that has recently driven upside at (Dell Technologies)," Morgan Stanley said in a note emailed to. "Customers are absorbing materially higher server prices with little evidence of demand destruction."
Marvell Technology (MRVL) shares surged nearly 33% after Nvidia (NVDA) Chief Executive Jensen Huang reportedly said Marvell could be the next chip company to join the trillion-dollar club.
IBM's (IBM) move to boost its quantum computing investment will likely take years before it starts yielding benefits, but the strategy is a "net positive" amid a rapidly evolving software landscape, Wedbush Securities said. IBM closed 2.8% higher.
In economic news, US job openings hit their highest level in almost two years in April, while hiring and layoffs fell, official data showed.
"Job openings jumped to their highest level in nearly two years, but this likely overstates the strength of the labor market, as the increase didn't translate into a higher hiring rate," Oxford Economics said in a note. "The result should be taken with a grain of salt and doesn't suggest a sudden tightening of labor market conditions is ahead."
Official data are expected to show Friday that the US economy added 95,000 nonfarm jobs in May, compared with a 115,000 increase reported for the previous month, according to a Bloomberg poll.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.6% at $93.62 a barrel in Tuesday late-afternoon trade, while Brent rose 1.1% to $95.99.
Negotiations with Iran continue, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
On Monday, Iranian state-affiliated outlet Tasnim reported that the country suspended talks with the US in retaliation to Israel's military action in Lebanon.
"Crude oil continues to trade from one headline to the next, making it increasingly difficult for traders to maintain conviction beyond a few hours," Saxo Bank said in a Tuesday report. "Beneath the headline-driven volatility, global energy markets continue to tighten, with the main focus remaining on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping artery that remains effectively shut, sustaining concerns about supply disruptions and elevated energy prices."
Switching to monetary policy, the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates should inflationary pressures persist, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said Tuesday.
"I'm more concerned about the growing risks of persistently elevated inflation than the risks to full employment and also that monetary policy may not be sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to 2%," Hammack said in prepared remarks for an event in Ohio. "If we wait for definitive evidence that high inflation has become embedded in the economy, it may require larger policy adjustments, at greater cost."
US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year rate little changed at 4.46%, and the two-year rate rising two basis points to 4.06%.
Gold was last up 0.3% at $4,517.70 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.3% to $75.48 per ounce.
