US stocks close at record highs as investors ride wave of strong corporate earnings

• S&P 500 and the Dow industrials notch another record high on Tuesday.
• UPS shares jumped following quarterly results.

US stocks closed at record highs on Tuesday, buoyed by a continued run of corporate earnings growth and economic data that pointed to a willingness by consumers to keep spending and drive the economy higher.

The S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average landed new record highs, adding to ones they set on Monday. UPS was a big gainer following a jump in third-quarter earnings bolstered by strong demand for e-commerce shipments. Facebook shares, however, turned lower even as third-quarter earnings beat expectations despite being embroiled in controversy over leaked internal documents.

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

Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,574.67, up 0.18%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,755.83, up 0.04% (14.68 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,235.71, up 0.06%

Meanwhile, data released Tuesday showed home sales surged 14% in September.

With COVID cases continuing to decline, it is no surprise that consumer confidence is bouncing back. Americans now want to spend big and that could mean the next few months could deliver better-than-expected purchases of new cars, TVs, home improvements, and vacations," said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.

Around the markets, gold lost 0.7% at $1,794 per ounce.

Oil prices moved higher. West Texas Intermediate crude rose % at $84.63 per barrel. Brent, oil's international benchmark, gained 0.5% to $86.40.

Bitcoin fell 1.2% to $62,088.