Wall Street hovered near record highs on Tuesday ahead of Christmas break as investors paused after a rally that was fueled by improving U.S.-China trade relations and optimism about the health of the domestic economy.

The Nasdaq hit an all-time high, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials were just shy of the record closing highs from Monday.

President Donald Trump further fanned hopes of a trade truce over the weekend by saying the two sides would sign a Phase 1 deal "very shortly".

At 11:11 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 19.94 points, or 0.07%, at 28,531.59, the S&P 500 was down 0.36 points, or 0.01%, at 3,223.65. The Nasdaq Composite was up 3.54 points, or 0.04%, at 8,949.19.

Source : Reuters