Wall Street rallies on upbeat economic data, Dow sets new record

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday after a long holiday weekend, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at another record high, buoyed by upbeat economic data from the world's largest economy and a general rally in global markets. The blue-chip Dow surged 106.29 points, or 0.69 percent, to end at 15,409.39 points. It moved up 218 points at most before retreating in later trading session. The broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 10.46 points, or 0.63 percent, to 1,660.06 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 29.75 points, or 0.86 percent, to 3,488.89 points. The main stock indices opened sharply higher on robust housing data. U.S. home prices in March posted their highest annual gain since 2006, according to a report released Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite for March rose 10.9 percent year on year, with all 20 cities posting positive growth year on year. The market was also bolstered by a strong Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which jumped to 76.2 in May from the revised-up figure of 69.0 in the prior month. The May reading marked the highest level since February 2008, a report showed Tuesday. A rebounding in stock markets outside the United States also added to the positive market sentiment, as top officials from both the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank reiterated that their easing policies would remain in place. However, there were still concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve's possible tapering of its bond buying program in next few policymaking meetings, which triggered some sort of selling after a strong rally. Wall Street snapped a four-week gaining steak last week amid worries that the Fed may reduce stimulus in advance. Markets were closed Monday for Memorial Day. In corporate news, shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. surged 8.68 percent to 91.80 U.S. dollars a share after the company announced Monday it would acquire Bausch & Lomb Holdings Inc. for 8.7 billion dollars. Tiffany & Co. shares gained 3.95 percent to 79.22 dollars a share after the luxury jeweler reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter of the year.