U.S. Stocks Close Marginally Higher After Cautious Session

U.S. stocks ended slightly up on Tuesday after a somewhat lackluster session, as investors largely refrained from making significant moves.

The political tensions in the U.S., and worries about rising coronavirus cases weighed on stocks, while optimism about another big fiscal stimulus pushed up prices. Investors were also looking ahead to quarterly earnings reports.

The Dow ended the day with a gain of 60 points or 0.19 percent at 31,068.69, after rising to a high of 31,114.56. The S&P 500 edged up 1.58 points or 0.04 percent to settle at 3,801.19, while the Nasdaq closed up by 36 points or 0.28 percent at 13,072.43.

Intel (INTC), General Electric (GE), DuPont (DWDP), Travelers Companies (TRV), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Caterpillar (CAT) gained 2 to 3.5 percent.

Home Depot (HD), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Chevron (CVX) and Walmart (WMT) also ended notably higher.

Visa (V), Walt Disney (DIS), Merck (MRK), Nike (NKE), McDonalds (MCD) and Microsoft (MSFT) drifted lower.

On the political front, articles of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump are under way in the House.

Trump warned that it was dangerous to the United States for him to be impeached. He also claimed his inflammatory comments at a rally shortly before the outbreak of violence in the halls of Congress, which lead to four deaths, were not harmful.

People thought what I said was totally appropriate," Trump told reporters when he was asked what his personal responsibility was for the violence.

The riot happened after Trump and his family members urged supporters at a rally to fight with him to reverse Joe Biden's Electoral College win.

In overseas trading, Asian markets ended slightly higher. European stocks turned in a mixed performance.

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