US stocks rally to new record highs

US stocks Tuesday surged to new all-time closing highs on renewed optimism after a prominent hedge fund manager said the stock rally of 2013 still has more room to go. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.57 (0.82 percent) to a record 15,215.25. The broad-based S&P 500, also reaching a new high, added 16.57 (1.01 percent) at 1,650.36. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index increased 23.82 (0.69 percent) to 3,462.61. Analysts said there was little fresh economic news driving the gains, but pointed to bullish investor David Tepper, head of the Appaloosa Management hedge fund group, who told CNBC that the market could still go higher. "It's hard to connect the market performance to any news," said Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson Advisors, who cited the Tepper comments. "There's not a real good sign that this cycle is going to end any time soon." Banks were among the biggest gainers. JPMorgan Chase added 1.2 percent, Citigroup rose 2.4 percent, Bank of America jumped 2.8 percent and Goldman Sachs put on 3.3 percent. Some pharmaceutical firms also fared well. Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 3.1 percent, Gilead Sciences added 3.3 percent and Biogen Idec jumped 3.2 percent. Take-Two Interactive Software, which develops interactive entertainment, rose 0.9 percent after reporting $299.5 million in revenues, above the $280.4 million forecast by analysts. The company pointed to an "extensive pipeline of next-generation and emerging platform titles in development." Western Gas Partners, which owns and operates pipelines and other midstream energy assets, fell 3.5 percent to $61.00 after pricing a new issue of 6.1 million shares at $61.18, with the proceeds aimed at paying down debt and funding its capital program. Handbag and accessory firm Coach dipped 0.1 percent after The Wall Street Journal reported the company is considering acquisitions. Sony's US-traded shares shot up 9.9 percent after The New York Times reported that activist investor Daniel Loeb had begun pushing for a breakup of the struggling Japanese electronics giant. Bond prices dropped. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 1.95 percent from 1.92 percent late Monday, while the 30-year jumped to 3.16 percent from 3.13 percent. Bond prices move inversely to yields.