US close: Dow closes higher in last session of the year
US stocks closed higher on Tuesday as Wall Street's banner year drew to a close.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.27% at 28,538.44, while the S&P 500 was ahead 0.29% at 3,230.78 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.30% higher at 8,972.60.
The Dow closed 76.30 points firmer on Tuesday bouncing back from Monday's session when shares headed south on as investors claimed profits from some of the year's biggest gainers.
Tuesday's focus remained on international trade and political developments, with the US set to sign their so-called "phase one" trade deal with China at the White House on 15 January.
Also in focus was a tweet from the President that stated Iran was responsible for an attack on the US embassy in the Middle East nation.
Donald Trump said: "Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!"
On the data front, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 2.2% in October. On a monthly basis, the index increased 0.1% month-on-month.
At the national level, home prices were up year-on-year by 3.3% - representing an increase from September's annual rate of home-price appreciation.
US consumer confidence dipped ever so slightly in December, as expectations around economic growth over the next six months slipped.
The Conference Board revealed that its consumer confidence index edged down to 126.5 from November's reading of 126.8.
No corporate earnings were released on the last day of the year.