S&P 500 Hits Record High on Robust Merck, Pfizer Earnings

S&P 500 Hits Record High on Robust Merck, Pfizer Earnings
Traders and financial professionals work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, on Dec. 27, 2018. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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The S&P 500 touched a record high on Oct. 29 as investors cheered strong earnings from big drugmakers Merck and Pfizer, while a disappointing profit from Google parent Alphabet kept the Nasdaq firmly in the red.

Hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal and expectations of another rate cut by the Federal Reserve when it concludes its two-day meeting on Wednesday have kept markets inching higher this week.