Global rally lifts US stocks to new records

New York - Wall Street stocks climbed to new records in opening trade on Tuesday, advancing with a global rally following better-than-expected earnings from Alcoa.

The S&P 500 added to a record high set Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading above its all-time closing high.

"It appears that the momentum trade is back again, as participants are riding the tape (and the rails) of a market that seemingly has no inclination to dwell on the negatives," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare in a client note.

Alcoa climbed 5.9% after reporting second-quarter adjusted earnings of 15 cents per share, five cents above analyst expectations.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow was at 18 333.01 points, up 0.6% and just 18 points below an intraday record. Its all-time closing high was 18 312.39 in May 2015.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 2 150.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7% at 5 024.52.