New York -
The prospect of more economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve because of a slowdown in hiring last month is pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index further into record territory.
Whirlpool, Delta Air Lines and Kimberly-Clark rose sharply after reporting higher earnings.
The S&P 500 was up six points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,750 as of noon (16h00 GMT) on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 53 points, or 0.3 percent, at 15,445.
The Nasdaq composite was up three points, or 0.1 percent, at 3,923.
Bond yields fell after the government reported that hiring slowed in September.
The report suggested the Federal Reserve may keep up its huge bond-buying programme for some time.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.53 percent from 2.60 percent. - Sapa-AP