US close: Dow notches 12th consecutive record close

US stocks shook off early losses to end higher, with the Dow notching up a record close for the 12th session in a row as President Trump teased investors with talk of a “big” announcement on infrastructure when he addresses Congress on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.1% to 20,837.44, the S&P 500 added 0.1% to 2,369.73 and the Nasdaq closed up 0.3% at 5,861.90.

Meanwhile, oil prices settled little changed, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.2% to $54.08 a barrel and Brent crude down 0.1% to $55.96.

“We’re going to make it easier for states to address their infrastructure, and I’m going to have a big statement tomorrow night on infrastructure,” Trump told governors visiting the White House. “We’re going to start spending on infrastructure big.”

However, Trump also said that any details on tax reform would not be revealed until after the administration's proposal on healthcare.

ADS Securities researcher Konstantinos Anthis said that Trump's appearance before Congress on Tuesday should shed more light on how bullish he is over his reforms schedule moving forward. He added that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin attempted to manage expectations last week.

This was echoed by Craig Erlam, senior markets analyst at Oanda: “Trump’s appearance before Congress will be watched very closely for some real insight into his plans for taxes and possibly fiscal stimulus which would help to sustain the rally for now. Given the lack of details so far though, I’m not getting my hopes up. In the absence of any details, Trump may instead hope to rely on the very tactics that have been so successful so far, vague yet substantial promises that keep people interested while leaving us all none-the-wiser.”

On the data front, US durable goods orders rose a little more than expected in January, almost entirely on the back of a surge in commercial aircraft orders.

Durable goods orders were up 1.8% from the previous month, when they dropped 0.8%. Economists had been expecting a 1.7% increase.

The jump was driven by a 70% rise in passenger plane orders and a 60% increase in orders for fighter jets and related military goods. Excluding transport, new orders fell 0.2%, missing expectations for a 0.5% jump.

Demand in a category that tracks business investment plans dropped 0.4%, marking its first fall since September.

Meanwhile, the pending home sales index fell 2.8% in January to 106.4, versus expectations for a 0.6% rise. The December reading was revised up to 109.5.

In corporate news, La Jolla Pharmaceutical rocketed after it announced positive trial results for its hypertension treatment.

Sotheby’s surged after the auction house swung to a fourth-quarter profit, beating forecasts.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway edged up after it reported a 15% jump in fourth-quarter profit.

On the downside, Tesla retreated after Goldman Sachs downgraded the driverless car maker to ‘sell’.

Shutterstock tumbled after it missed profit and revenue expectations and issued a gloomy outlook.