S&P 500 And Nasdaq Hit Record Highs

The surge came as European bourses notched modest gains in the first day back after the Easter recess, while oil prices continued to push higher after the US announced it would crack down on Iranian exports.

Investors had been cautious heading into first-quarter earnings period, owing to expectations for an overall drop in profits.

But Tuesday's slate of stock market winners included defence giant Lockheed Martin, soft drinks company Coca-Cola, toymaker Hasbro and social media company Twitter.

The strong results have lifted expectations that stocks could continue to rise.

"We are now seeing more signs of solid economic growth, as well as indications that companies not only are reporting better than expected first-quarter earnings but also are continuing to guide for modest earnings growth throughout 2019," said Kate Warne, an investment strategist at Edward Jones.

Tuesday's advance comes ahead of a number of other key earnings reports later this week, including from tech giants Amazon and Facebook, as well as Boeing, which will report results for the first time since a March Ethiopian Airlines crash led to the worldwide grounding of its 737 MAX.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said: "The blue chip results are nice to see, yet this market is probably waiting on a stronger directional cue from the response to earnings reports from Facebook and Amazon later in the week." (AFP)