While you were sleeping: UPDATED Tech stocks push Wall St to new high

Tech stocks lead Wall Street higher as investors took advantage of their post-US election slump amid expectations the outlook for their earnings remains intact.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average notched its fourth consecutive record close as stocks of banks and infrastructure companies also gained.

Amazon traded 2.8% higher, stemming a four-day slide. Google parent Alphabet shares gained 3.1%, also halting a four-day slump.

"The underlying fundamentals of the economy haven't really changed and if the economy is strong that will lead to more capital spending which should benefit tech stocks," Utah-based US Bank regional investment manager Mark Watkins told Reuters.

At the close, the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.1% to 5275.62. The Dow rose 54.37 points, or 0.3%, to 18,923.06, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.75% to 2180.39.

Investors are still trying to gauge the impact of Donald Trump's upset victory in the US presidential elections last week.

"It's still difficult to draw any firm conclusions about a long-term directional bias of stock sectors after the Trump election," Michael Hewson, a market analyst at CMC Markets in London, told Bloomberg.

"There have certainly been benefits in the aftermath for certain sectors like construction and financials, but volatility will persist."

In the Dow, slides Home Depot and DuPont shares, down 2.6% and 1.6% respectively, outweighed gains Chevron and Verizon Communications shares, up 2.2% and 1.9% respectively.

Oil prices rise sharply
Oil shares rose as the price of oil climbed amid signs of renewed efforts by Opec members to agree to reduce output to stem the global glut.  US crude futures rose 5.7% to $US45.81 a barrel, the biggest one-day percentage gain since April.

Shares of Exxon Mobil traded 1.7% higher. Exxon is negotiating with Chad's government about a record $US74 billion fine the oil company was told to pay last month by a court in the central African nation because of a dispute over royalties, Bloomberg reported.

The penalty is almost six times Chad's gross domestic product.

While Exxon has appealed the October 5 ruling by the High Court, the appeals court hearing has been delayed because of the talks, company lawyer Thomas Dingamgoto says.

Gold, which had closed lower six sessions in a row, settled up 0.2% at $US1224.40 an ounce.

The latest US economic reports underpinned bets the Federal Reserve will raise its key interest rate at its next policy meeting in December.

Commerce Department data showed retail sales rose more than expected last month, gaining 0.8%.

"This is just the kind of data the Fed doves need to see to convince them to hike rates in December," New York-based MUFG Union Bank chief economist Chris Rupkey told Reuters.

The economy is doing pretty well, this data is bullish for the economic outlook in the months ahead," Mr Rupkey says.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index finished the day with a 0.3% advance from the previous close. Germany's DAX Index gained 0.4%, while the UK's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.6%, as did France's CAC 40 Index.

(BusinessDesk)