2017.04.2721:31:00UTC+00Wall Street Climbs as Nasdaq Hits Record Peak

U.S. equities finished higher ahead of major technology company earnings. The Nasdaq Composite was lifted by results-related advances in Comcast, Intuit and PayPal, as the S&P 500 and the Dow traded flat.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.03 percent to 20,891.3. Boeing and Home Depot outperformed, as Caterpillar and DuPont were the top decliners. The S&P 500 added 0.06 percent to 2,388.77, with consumer discretionary and information technology leading five sectors up while energy lagged behind the most. The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.29 percent to 6,048.94.

The tech-heavy index will likely extend its record-breaking string of advances as heavyweights Alphabet and Amazon soared over four percent each following the bell due to strong earnings. Comcast was up 2.1 percent to $39.59 after notching a record peak of $40.62 as solid subscriber growth brought a higher-than-expected profit.

Intuit climbed 8.5 percent to $125.61 after it posted consumer tax-season results and cited its quarter and full-year forecast. Shares of Paypal notched a record peak after it increased its earnings outlook and posted higher-than-expected quarterly profits.