The Dow inched up 13.51 points, or 0.07 percent, to 18,312.39. The S&P 500 edged down 1.37 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,127.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.40 points, or 0.17 percent, to 5, 070.03.

　　U.S. privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.135 million, the highest level since November 2007, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday. This is 20.2 percent above the revised March estimate and 9.2 percent above the April 2014 rate.

　　Dow extends record run on upbeat data

　　"After a slew of weak Q2 data thus far, and after months of disappointing housing market data, April housing starts and permits suggest that the housing market is finally responding to higher incomes and more jobs," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial, in a note.

　　Investor sentiment was also buoyed by the comments from a policymaker of the European Central Bank (ECB). ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said the central bank would slightly increase purchases under its Quantitative Easing (QE) program before an expected period of low liquidity in the summer, according to Reuters.

　　European equities ended sharply higher following the comments, with German benchmark DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange surging 2.23 percent.

　　In Asia, Chinese Shanghai Composite Index soared 3.13 percent as investor enthusiasm was ignited after China's State Council unveiled Tuesday a "Made in China 2025" national plan to promote more sophisticated manufacturing over the next 10 years.

　　Dragged by tumbling oil prices, the energy sector, which is the biggest laggard among the S&P 500's 10 sectors, fell 1.23 percent on Tuesday, pulling the broader index into negative territory.

　　In corporate news, Wal-Mart earned an adjusted 1.03 U.S. dollars per share for the first quarter of 2015, missing estimates, with revenue also below expectations. Shares of the retail giant dropped 4.37 percent to 76.43 dollars apiece Tuesday.

　　The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, increased 0.94 percent to end at 12.85 Tuesday.

　　In other markets, the U.S. dollar climbed against other major currencies as economic data from the country came out positive.

　　In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1153 dollars from 1.1303 dollars in the previous session, while the greenback bought 120.71 Japanese yen, higher than 120.01 yen of the previous session.

　　Oil prices continued to fall Tuesday as a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on the crude market.

　　Light, sweet crude for June delivery lost 2.17 dollars to settle at 57.26 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery moved down 2.25 dollars to close at 64.02 dollars a barrel.

　　Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange plunged as the dollar rebounded, putting pressure on the precious metal.

　　The most active gold contract for June delivery lost 20.9 dollars, or 1.70 percent, to settle at 1,206.70 dollars per ounce.