S&P 500, Dow extend record highs as Big Tech earnings take center stage

• The S&P 500 and blue-chip stocks headed toward new record highs on Tuesday.
• Microsoft and Alphabet earnings are next on tap for Big Tech earnings.

US stocks climbed Tuesday, with technology stocks in focus as big names in the industry continue to release quarterly earnings reports that are expected to sustain Corporate America's run of profit growth.

The S&P 500 index and the Dow industrials were on course to build on record highs set on Monday. Facebook shares edged up after the company late Monday issued third-quarter earnings that beat expectations despite being embroiled in controversy over leaked internal documents.

Tuesday's lineup for earnings includes Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet. On Thursday, Apple and Amazon.

Meanwhile, Tesla will be in focus again after topping $1 trillion in market capitalization on Monday. The electric vehicle maker "is riding the wave of surging demand for climate-conscious stocks. Venture capitalists have poured $32 billion in climate change start-ups this year, a record high, in another sign of supercharged demand in the sector", said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, in a note.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,590.30, up 0.52%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,823.57, up 0.23% (85.34 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,342.68, up 0.76%

Around the markets, gold slipped 0.5% at $1,798 per ounce.

Oil prices were slightly lower. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% at $83.92 per barrel. Brent, oil's international benchmark, dropped 0.15% to $85.86

Bitcoin fell 0.7% to $67,545.