Dow Jones hits 23,000 mark for the first time

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly breached the 23,000-mark for the first time on Tuesday, powered by strong earnings from UnitedHealth Group and Johnson & Johnson.

The blue-chip index has surpassed four similar 1,000-point milestones this year, indicating investor faith in the bull-run despite lofty stock valuations.

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The TSX, meanwhile, added 14.2 points to finish the day at 15,816.90.

The Dow was higher, ultimately finishing with a gain of more than 40 points at 22,997.44.

Shares of UnitedHealthGroup, the largest U.S. health insurer, touched a life high, rising as much as 5.83 per cent, after the company reported a stronger-than-expected profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast.

That, along with a 3.5 per cent rise in Johnson & Johnson, led a 1.3 per cent gain in the S&P healthcare sector.

Goldman Sachs dipped almost 2.5per cent despite reporting a profit beat and smaller-than-expected trading revenue fall. Morgan Stanley rose 0.33per cent as its wealth management business insulated the bank from weakness in trading revenue.

General Electric's 0.73 percent fall led losses in the industrial sector.

Netflix slipped 1.6 per cent after touching a record high as more subscribers signed up for its popular original content in the latest quarter.

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"There was some good earnings, real good economic data in spite of the hurricanes," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

"We're not seeing a market that's galloping along here.The market from a technical perspective is tired. What you're seeing is some hesitancy but not any major declines."

Treasury yields and dollar gained after a report that U.S. President Donald Trump was impressed by his meeting with economist John Taylor, who is considered to favour higher interest rates than current Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.