NEW YORK (AFP) - The Dow and S&P 500 Tuesday closed at fresh records following solid economic data from Germany and the US.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17693.05, up 45.30 points (0.26 per cent).

The S&P 500 gained 10.77 (0.53 per cent) to 2,052.09, notching its third straight record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 31.44 (0.67 per cent) to 4,702.44.

US homebuilder confidence rose by four points to 58, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

Germany's DAX 30 rose 1.6 per cent as investor confidence in Europe's biggest economy jumped back into positive territory in November after reaching a 22-month low in October, according to the ZEW economic institute.

Brent Schutte, market strategist at BMO Global Asset Management, said the market was also cheered by news that Japan would delay a sales tax increase.

"I think today it was what's happening outside the US that actually propelled the US market higher," he said.