Stocks Hit New Highs for a 3rd Day in a Row

The US stock market pushed further into record heights on Tuesday, with the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq composite all setting all-time highs for the third straight day.

• The S&P 500 rose 15.73 points, or 0.2%, to 6,890.89.
• The Dow rose 161.78 points, or 0.3%, to 47,706.37.
• The Nasdaq climbed 190.04 points, or 0.8%, to 23,827.49.

Moves were relatively modest in the bond market ahead of a few events that could shake things up, including Wednesday's decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve, the AP reports. The widespread expectation is that the Fed will also cut rates for a third time at its final meeting of the year.

United Parcel Service rallied 8% after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. UPS also gave a forecast for revenue in the all-important holiday shipping season that was slightly above analysts' expectations. PayPal jumped 3.9% after saying it made a bigger profit during the summer than analysts expected. It also said it plans to pay its shareholders a dividend every three months, while announcing a deal where internet users will be able to pay for purchases through OpenAI's ChatGPT. Amazon rose 1% after saying it will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs, or about 4% of its corporate workforce.

Skyworks Solutions climbed 5.8% after saying it would merge with Qorvo in a cash-and-stock deal where Skyworks shareholders will own roughly 63% of the combined company, valued at $22 billion. Qorvo's stock rose nearly as much, 5.7%. Microsoft was one of the strongest forces lifting the market after rising 2%. That sent the company's total value on Wall Street back above $4 trillion.

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On the losing end of Wall Street was Royal Caribbean, which lost 8.5% despite reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. Its revenue for the latest quarter fell short of expectations. Homebuilder DR Horton sank 3.2% after reporting a weaker profit for the summer than analysts expected. Executive Chairman David Auld said his company is still dealing with homebuyers finding it challenging to afford a house, along with cautious consumer sentiment.