Despite geopolitical uncertainty, US stocks closed at record highs Tuesday.
The Dow gained 485 points, or 0.99%, to close at a record high of 49,462.08. It’s the first time the blue-chip index has closed above 49,000 points.
The broader S&P 500 rose 0.62% and also hit a record high, its first since December 24. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.65%.
Wall Street has shrugged off uncertainty about the US capture of Nicholás Maduro, instead focusing on fundamentals for markets, such as expectations for strong corporate earnings and optimism about Federal Reserve interest rate cuts later this year.
The Dow just posted back-to-back days of record highs. The Dow needs a gain of roughly 1.09% to close above 50,000 points — a milestone that highlights the strength of the recent stock market rally.
“The new all-time high for the Dow reflects a constructive broadening in US equity performance,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategy director at US Bank Asset Management.
Market sentiment on Tuesday was “neutral,” according to CNN’s Fear and Greed Index.
“Despite the solid performance of the last three years, we think this bull market has more to go,” David Lefkowitz, head of US equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a note.
Markets across the globe are kicking off 2026 on a strong note: Benchmark stock indexes in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and the United Kingdom all closed at record highs on Tuesday.