US STOCKS-Wall St climbs on signs of economic recovery, Nasdaq hits record high

Wall Street's three major indexes rose on Tuesday as improving economic data and the prospect of more stimulus bolstered hopes of a swift recovery, while a jump in technology shares powered the Nasdaq to another record high.

Wall Street's three major indexes rose on Tuesday as improving economic data and the prospect of more stimulus bolstered hopes of a swift recovery, while a jump in technology shares powered the Nasdaq to another record high. White House advisor Larry Kudlow said tax rebates and direct mail checks are on the table in the next coronavirus relief bill.

The Nasdaq hit a fifth record high this month with Apple Inc providing the biggest boost after at least three brokerages raised their price targets, a day after the iPhone maker said it would use its own chips for Mac computers. The pace of contraction in U.S. manufacturing and services sectors slowed in June as businesses reopened after the health crisis resulted in a lockdown in mid-March.

Another set of data showed new home sales jumped 16.6% in May, blowing past estimates of a 2.9% rise. "There's a lot of money on the sidelines and as the country reopens, as the economy recovers, that money will be forced back in," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great Hill Capital LLC in New York.

Global equity markets were also boosted by President Donald Trump's assurance that the Phase 1 trade agreement with China was "fully intact" after adviser Peter Navarro sparked confusion by saying the deal was over. While U.S.-China tensions have been a cause for concern, monetary and fiscal support worth trillions of dollars has in part powered the benchmark S&P 500, with the index just about 7% below its Feb. 19 record high.

"The market is overbought, but it continues to move higher and the Fed continues to be supportive," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. Nine of the 11 major sub-indexes were higher with technology and consumer discretionary posting the steepest gains. The defensive real estate and utilities were marginally lower.

At 11:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 238.16 points, or 0.92%, at 26,263.12, the S&P 500 was up 31.06 points, or 1.00%, at 3,148.92. The Nasdaq Composite was up 126.22 points, or 1.26%, at 10,182.70. Nike Inc rose 2% as brokerages raised their price targets ahead of quarterly results on Thursday.

Boeing Co's top supplier Spirit AeroSystems Holdings slipped 5.8% after it said it was seeking relief from lenders as its finances were stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic and a 737 MAX production halt. Micron Technology Inc slipped 2.6% as BMO downgraded the chipmaker's shares to "market perform".

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.87-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.68-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 23 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 124 new highs and six new lows.

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