Paul Davidson, and Ed Brackett

USA Today

The Dow and the S&P 500 stretched further into record territory following news of 5% economic growth and the strongest consumer sentiment since 2007, with the blue-chip index crossing 18,000 for the first time and closing above that milestone.

The Dow Jones industrial average DJIA ended up 64.73 points, or 0.4%, to 18,024.17, a record. The S&P 500 SPX ended up 3.63 points, or 0.2%, to 2,082.17. The Nasdaq composite COMP lost 16 points, or 0.3%, to 4,765.42.

The Dow shot past the 18,000 milestone for the first time at the opening bell. Both the Dow and S&P notched new intraday highs Tuesday. Energy stocks led gains alongside a jump in oil prices, while biotech stocks fell.

Consumer spending is also strong, another economic report Tuesday morning shows. It was buoyed last month by rising wages and plunging gasoline prices.

Consumption increased 0.6% after rising 0.3% in October, which was revised upward from 0.2%, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Economists expected a 0.5% increase.

The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace since 2003 in the third quarter on stronger consumer and business spending.

Gross domestic product expanded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5% in the three months ended Sept. 30, higher than the 3.9% previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The reading was the government's third and final estimate.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for December rose to 93.6 from 88.8 in November, Bloomberg reports. That is the highest level since January 2007.

Real estate data provided a downer note to Tuesday's economic news. Sales of new single-family homes fell 1.6% from October, the Commerce Department reports. That undershot forecasts of a small increase.

On Monday, the S&P 500 and the Dow hit new record closing highs.

In Asia, the Shanghai composite was hammered, dropping 3%. The benchmark was dragged down by declines for major stocks including PetroChina and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down a slight 0.3%.

Japan's stock market was closed for a public holiday – the Emperor's Birthday – on Tuesday.

Major European benchmarks ended higher, ranging from the FTSE in Britain, up 0.3%, to France's CAC 40, which gained 1.4%.

Contributing: Jane Onyanga-Omara, The Associated Press.