On the Nasdaq, 1,887 issues rose and 536 fell.The S&P 500 index showed 56 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 115 new highs and six new lows. The S&P 500 and the Dow hit record intraday highs on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq wiped out its losses for the year, buoyed by increasing prospects of global economic health and with Alcoa getting the U.S. earnings season off to a promising start.The S&P 500 hit 2,151.96 shortly after the open, breaking past the previous record of 2,143.16 on Monday. "What is driving the market today is political stability in both Japan and the UK and a global drive for yield, which central banks are going to support," said John Brady , a senior vice president at R.J. O'Brien & Associates in Chicago At 9:48 a.m. Seagate jumped 16.2 percent to $28 after the hard-disk drive maker estimated quarterly results that beat analysts' expectations.Shares of rival Western Digital rose 3.5 percent.Sage Therapeutic soared 42 percent to $47.69 after its postpartum drug succeeded in a study.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,188 to 580. The Dow hit an all-time high of 18,353.76.Alcoa reported a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit, sending the aluminum producer's shares up 4.7 percent and helping boost optimism about the earnings season.Investors appetite for equities has increased after strong economic data and low returns on government bonds , while easing political tensions in Britain and Japan have reduced some global uncertainties.Though treasury yields are hovering at record lows, making equities more attractive, they stand to gain as central banks globally, led by Japan and Britain, chart out new stimulus measures.

Source: Economic Times July 12, 2016 13:52 UTC