U.S. stocks ended broadly higher on Tuesday, shrugging off some adverse news on the vaccine front amid expectations of strong quarterly earnings from big name companies. Data showing an uptick inflation weighed a bit, although it did not trigger any big selling in the market.
Technology stocks gained in strength and lifted the Nasdaq Composite Index up by over 1 percent. The S&P 500 set a new record closing high, while the Dow closed on a negative note.
The Dow ended down 68.13 points or 0.2 percent at 33,677.27. The S&P 500 advanced 13.60 points or 0.33 percent to 4,141.59, while the Nasdaq surged up 146.10 points or 1.1 percent to 13,996.10.
Data released by the Labor Department showed annual consumer price inflation in the U.S. jumped to 2.6 percent in March from 1.7 percent in February. Economists had expected inflation rate to come in at 2.7 percent.
Core consumer price inflation rose to 1.6 percent year-on-year in March following a 1.3 percent advance in the previous month.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6 percent in March over the previous month, the most since 2012, due largely to a rise in gasoline prices.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a temporarily halt on the usage of Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Covid-19 vaccine after six recipients developed a rare blood clotting disorder. Johnson & Johnson shares shed about 1.3 percent.
"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," the FDA said in a joint statement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously."
Telsa (TSLA) rose more than 8 percent, extending recent gains. Apple (AAPL), Travelers Companies (TRV), Boeing (BA), Salesforce.com (CRM) and Microsoft (MSFT) also ended notably higher.
JP Morgan (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
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