Stocks Ended Slightly Higher, Nasdaq Notched New Record

U.S. stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq notching a new record as oil prices declined and the U.S. trade deficit hit its highest level in four years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37.87 points, or 0.19%, to 20,090.29. The S&P 500 was up 0.52 point, or 0.02%,to 2,293.08. The Nasdaq Composite rose 10.67 points, or 0.19%, to 5,674.22.

Oil futures extended their losses into a second session Tuesday as strength in the U.S. dollar and a record level of long positions in the trading market fueled a sell off. March West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 84 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $52.17 a barrel. April Brent crude fell by 67 cents, or 1.2%, to $55.05 a barrel.

General Motors Co. topped fourth-quarter earnings expectations on Tuesday. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.28, versus FactSet consensus of $1.17 a share. GM’s quarterly revenue of $44 billion came in above expectations of $40 billion.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) today announced total net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 increased 2% over the same quarter last year to a record $1.03 billion. For the year ended January 31, 2017, total company net sales increased to $3.5 billion or 3% over the prior year.