While you were sleeping: UPDATED Wall Street stocks hit record highs

Wall Street rose to record highs amid bets that potential tax cuts and government spending under US President-elect Donald Trump will accelerate economic growth and corporate profits.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 88.76 points, or 0.5%, to 18,956.69, above its November 15 closing record of 18,923.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.75% to 2198.18, above its August 15 record of 2190.15. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.9% to 5368.86, passing its record close of 5339.52 reached on September 22.

"It's a push on the upper end of the equity markets due to this renewed belief that there are tax cuts and stimulus spending coming in 2017 and 2018," New Jersey-based Stifel, Nicolaus & Co money manager Chad Morganlander told Bloomberg.

"The overall equity markets are taking a cue from that and they are trading on the belief that earnings will move higher as well as revenues in 2017."

Oil rose and the US dollar steadied. Crude futures rose 3.9% to $US47.49 a barrel, the highest since October 28, while the dollar paused after a 10-day rally, its longest winning streak in over four years. 

Some remain cautious
Some commentators are cautious about the market's bullish performance.

"I think the [post-election rally] is continuing but the volumes are very low," PSW Investments chief executive Phil Davis told Reuters.

US markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dow's rise was led by gains in Apple and Exxon Mobil shares, up 1.4% and 1.27% respectively. Bucking the trend were 3M and McDonald's shares, down 1% and 0.8% respectively.

Chevron shares also gained, up 1.4%, with oil prices rising amid optimism Opec will finalise details of an agreement to curb production. 

"When you've got all of the major players on board with a production cut, obviously you're very close to getting a deal done," Chicago-based Price Futures Group senior market analyst Phil Flynn told Reuters.

"You never know with OPEC-sometimes they go to the last minute and there are a lot of false starts."

Financials also contibuted to the rally. Investors have been betting that a Trump presidency will usher in an era of looser financial regulations and higher interest rates. Both would benefit banks, whose net-interest margins – a key measure of lending profitability – rise with rates.

Tyson Foods takes hit
Tyson Foods shares sank 14.6% after the meat producer reported quarterly profit and earnings that fell short of expectations, offered a disappointing outlook and announced the departure of chief executive Donnie Smith at the end of the year.

Tyson Foods president Tom Hayes will succeed Mr Smith as chief executive on December 31. Mr Smith, who has been head of Tyson Foods since November 2009 will be available to consult with the company for a three-year period.

In the latest corporate deals, LifeLock shares jumped, up 15.2% at 1.13pm in New York, after Symantec says it agreed to buy the identity theft protection company for $US2.3 billion.

In government bond markets, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note settled lower at 2.335%, compared with 2.337% on Friday. The 10-year note had posted its steepest two-week yield gain since 2001. 

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the session with a 0.3% increase from the previous close. The UK's FTSE 100 Index eked out a 0.03% gain, Germany's DAX Index rose 0.2%, while France's CAC 40 Index climbed 0.6%.

(BusinessDesk)