Dow clocks fresh record highs on strong earnings

  •  Strong earnings lift Dow to fresh record highs

  •  Fed Chair speculation, ECB decision and US GDP in focus

Major US equity indices witnessed a mixed opening on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) outperforming the broader indices and notched fresh record highs.

During the opening hour of trade, DJIA surged over 150-points to 23,435 on the back of strong earnings from Caterpillar and 3M. Strong earnings-driven rally was partly negated by a drop in shares of Whirlpool Corp. and kept a lid on any meaningful up-move for the S&P 500 Index, which added nearly 3-points to 2,567. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index treaded water near yesterday's closing level of 6,586.

Third-quarter earnings continue to come in largely positive, with around 75% of the S&P 500 companies that reported results till Monday have surpassed profit estimates, which coupled optimism over the US President Donald Trump's tax plans now seems to suggest that another round of records could be in store for the main benchmark indices.

Moving ahead, investors' attention would remain glued to Thursday's ECB monetary policy decision and the release of Q3 US GDP number on Friday. Also in focus would be the announcement of a new Federal Reserve Chair, which would influence market expectations about the central bank's monetary policy outlook and impact investors' appetite for riskier assets - like equities.