By Sruthi Shankar
(Reuters) - Wall Street indexes hit record intraday highs on Tuesday, lifted by technology stocks and healthcare shares, which were boosted by bullish results from medical device maker Medtronic .
The S&P technology index (SPLRCT) rose 1 percent, helped by gains in Apple (O:AAPL). The index has risen 38 percent this year, far outperforming other major sectors and the broader S&P 500.
"It is a return of momentum for the market, with some of positive earnings and recommendations as catalysts," said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank's Private Client Reserve unit.
"They (technology stocks) have been in the leadership position for long and have produced remarkable earnings growth. With the sector also standing to benefit from tax reforms, they will continue to be in a favored position," Wiegand said.
At 12:35 p.m. ET (1635 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was up 178.7 points, or 0.76 percent, at 23,609.03, the S&P 500 (SPX) was up 16.91 points, or 0.65 percent, at 2,599.05 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) was up 63.26 points, or 0.93 percent, at 6,853.98.
With the third-quarter earnings season winding down and no major economic data in sight, trading activity is expected to slow ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.
Medtronic's shares (N:MDT) rose 5.2 percent to $82.80 after the company reported better-than-expected results and backed its full-year forecast.
Hormel Foods (N:HRL) and Urban Outfitters (O:URBN) gained more than 4 percent after reporting quarterly results.
Oil prices rose ahead of next week's OPEC meeting where major crude exporters are expected to extend production cuts. [O/R]
Lowe's (N:LOW) dipped marginally even as the home improvement chain reported strong sales and profit on higher demand after recent hurricanes.
Signet Jewelers (N:SIG) tanked 27 percent after reporting a surprise quarterly loss, pulling down Tiffany (N:TIF) by more than 1 percent.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,986 to 845. On the Nasdaq, 1,913 issues rose and 944 fell.