NEW YORK (AFP) - The Dow jumped above 19,000 early Tuesday (Nov 22) for the first time as US stocks continued to rally after Republicans swept the Nov 8 presidential and congressional elections.

The Dow got as high as 19,013.12 before pulling back a bit. All three major US stock indices closed at records Monday in anticipation of pro-growth policies under President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

"The market rise represents optimism that the types of policies implemented will eventually translate to faster economic growth and stronger earnings growth," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. "This morning, that same broad narrative remains in place."

About 25 minutes into trade, the Dow was at 18,994.18, up 0.2 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent to 2,202.47, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 per cent to 5,387.92.

Retailers were strong ahead of the holiday shopping season, which kicks off with the annual "Black Friday" sales this week the day after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

Amazon, Wal-Mart Stores and Target were all up more than one per cent. Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks tumbled 12.9 per cent as it projected second-quarter revenues of US$426 to US$432 million, below the US$438.9 million expected by Wall Street analysts.

Medtronic, a medical device company, sank 8.5 per cent as it reported lower-than-expected sales ahead of new product introductions for treating diabetes and cardiac and vascular ailments. Dollar Tree surged 10.1 per cent as the discount store chain reported that third-quarter net income more than doubled to US$171.6 million.