(Australian Associated Press)

NEW YORK: U.S. stocks jumped and indexes hit record highs on Tuesday, led by gains in this year’s top-performing technology sector.

Healthcare shares were also boosted by bullish results from medical device maker Medtronic, whose shares rose 5.2 per cent after the company reported better-than-expected results and backed its full-year forecast.

With the third-quarter earnings season winding down and no major economic data in sight, trading activity is expected to slow ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

“Tech has been by far and away the leader, and that continues to be the case both domestically and internationally,” said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 167.86 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 23,598.19, the S&P 500 gained 17.49 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 2,599.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 68.58 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 6,859.29.

LONDON: European shares quickly recovered from a weaker open on Tuesday as continued faith in the underlying strength of the European economy and a synchronised global expansion overcame negative trading updates, notably in Britain.

The STOXX 600 benchmark ended up 0.4 per cent with most European bourses and sectors in positive territory.

Germany’s DAX rose 0.8 per cent after Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would prefer a new election to minority rule after the failure of talks to form a three-way coalition.

“Financial markets did not really react too much”, said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Wealth Management, adding that a snap election was not the most likely option because it would be a lengthy process.

A flurry of company updates and strong consumer stocks helped Britain’s FTSE 100 climb on Tuesday.

The FTSE rose 0.3 per cent, its best daily gains in three weeks, ending the day at 7,411.34 points following a weak start, while mid caps gained 0.4 per cent.

SHANGHAI: China’s blue-chip index ended at a fresh 28-month high on Tuesday, bolstered by robust gains in brokerage firms, as analysts expect the sector to benefit from the continued bull-run in the stock market.

The Shanghai Composite index closed up 18.69 points or 0.6 per cent at 3,411.09 points.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 1.8 per cent, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 2.3 per cent.

Hong Kong’s main Hang Seng index had its best day in seven weeks on Tuesday, rising 557.76 points or 1.91 per cent at 29,818.07.

Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.8 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 0.7 per cent.

WELLINGTON: The S&P/NZX50 Index fell 1.32 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 8088.48.