Stocks surge as S&P 500 hits new record

Stocks jumped Tuesday as investors sent the Standard & Poor's 500 index to new all-time highs.

Investors were encouraged by better-than-expected economic data and more corporate deals.

The S&P 500 was up 0.6% and rose as high as 1,911.61, beating its previous all-time high of 1,902.17 set on May 13. The broad-based index closed above 1,900 for the first time Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.5% to 16,681 and the Nasdaq composite index surged 1% to 4,226.

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Shares of Hillshire Brands leaped nearly 22% after Pilgrim's Pride offered to buy the meat producer for $6.4 billion. The deal could undo Hillshire's previous plans to acquire Pinnacle Foods for $4.2 billion. Pilrgrim's shares rose about 4% and Pinnacle dropped 6%.

In economic news, orders to factories for durable goods rose by a better-than-expected 0.8% in April, led by strong demand for military aircraft. Economists had predicted that orders would decline.

Consumers were feeling more upbeat in May as the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 83, up from 81.7 in April.

European shares edged higher.London's FTSE index was up 0.4% and Germany's DAX index gained 0.5%.

Shares in Asia were mostly lower Tuesday, although Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2% to 14,636.52. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 0.1% to 22,944.30 and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6% to 1,997.63 .

Friday, the S&P 500 rose 8.04, or 0.4%, to a record closing high of 1,900.53. That beat its previous record closing high of 1,897.45 set on May 13. The Dow gained 63.19, or 0.4%, to 16,606.27 and turned positive for the year. The Nasdaq rose 31.47, or 0.8%, to 4,185.81.