Dow hits all-time high near 20,000

US stocks rose in early trading on Tuesday, with Dow inching closer to the 20,000 mark that has eluded it for several days now.

At 9:39 a.m. ET, the Dow is up 79 points, or 0.4%, to 19,962.81. The S&P 500 is up 8 points (0.39%), while the Nasdaq is up 24 points (0.44%). The Dow hit an all-time high.

"Volumes are abysmal," with most exchanges trading 30% less than the norm, according to Dave Lutz, head of Exchange Traded Funds at JonesTrading, in a note on Tuesday. That's expected, as many traders take time off for the holidays.

There is no major economic data on the calendar today. Nike and FedEx report earnings after the closing bell.