Global rally lifts US stocks to new records

Wall Street stocks climbed to new records early 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.

About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow was at 18,327.84 points, up 0.6 percent and just 24 points below an intraday record. Its all-time closing high was 18,312.39 in May 2015.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent to 2,149.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7 percent at 5,023.13.

Alcoa advanced 3.7 percent after reporting second-quarter adjusted earnings of 15 cents per share, five cents above analyst expectations.

Banking shares were on a tear ahead of earnings later this week. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.6 percent, Bank of America 2.7 percent and Citigroup 2.5 percent.

Petroleum-linked shares rallied with oil prices. Chevron rose 1.0 percent, Halliburton 2.7 percent and ConocoPhillips 2.5 percent.

Airline shares jumped after United Continental reported that it expects a key industry benchmark for second-quarter revenue per passenger to drop between 6.5 percent and 6.75 percent, near the high end of expectations due to better international performance.

United Continental gained 7.2 percent, while Delta Air Lines rose 4.2 percent and American Airlines 8.4 percent.

Sage Therapeutics surged 38.5 percent after announcing positive clinical results for its treatment for postpartum depression.

Seagate Technology, which sells electronic data storage products, soared 19.7 percent after announcing that fiscal fourth-quarter revenues and profit margin are now expected to exceed its prior forecasts.