Stocks ended mostly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite edging higher to close at records Tuesday, while the S&P 500 ended slightly lower a day after all three major indexes closed in record territory.

Positive expectations around a potential "phase one" trade agreement between the U.S. and China continued to buoy stocks, analysts said.

The Dow rose around 30 points, or 0.1%, to end near 27,492, according to preliminary figures, while the Nasdaq gained by around 1.5 points to end near 8,435, a rise of less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 lost around 4 points, or 0.1%, to end near 3,075.

Source : MarketWatch