Nasdaq Hits Fresh Record, Dow Treads Water

The Nasdaq finished at a fresh record on Tuesday following strong gains by Tesla and some other tech companies, while the Dow trod water ahead of a Federal Reserve decision.

The tech-rich Nasdaq finished up 0.6 percent at 7,703, resuming its upward climb after notching three straight records last week.

The Dow Jones was down a hair to 25,320, while the S&P 500 added 0.2 percent to 2,786.

Karl Haeling of LBBW described the investor mood as one of "cautious optimism" with low trading volumes ahead of Wednesday's Fed announcement.

Investors are anticipating an interest rate hike from the Fed, followed by a European Central Bank decision on Thursday that could mark the end of a bond-buying stimulus programme.

"We have so many major events for the rest of the week. Most investors are sitting on the sidelines," Haeling said.

Tesla Motors shot up 3.2 percent after announcing that it would cut nine percent of its staff in a push towards profitability. The electric-car maker said the move would not affect production workers or production targets of the Model 3 sedan.

Other large technology companies, including Apple, Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet, climbed between 0.5 and 1.0 percent.

Time Warner rose 0.1 percent and AT&T 1.0 percent ahead of the US judicial decision approving the mega-merger between the two media companies. (AFP)