Nasdaq hits record high as growth stocks rise; inflation data weighs

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were trading lower, with the defensive real estate and utilities sectors leading declines.

The Nasdaq index reversed early declines to hit a record high on Tuesday, helped by a rise in growth-linked megacap stocks and as earnings season kicked off on a positive note, while a solid rise in consumer prices in June weighed on sentiment. 

 A Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices rose by the most in 13 years last month amid supply constraints and a continued rebound in costs of travel-related services, while the so-called core CPI surged 4.5% on a year-on-year basis, the largest rise since November 1991, after rising 3.8% in May. 

"The headline CPI numbers have shock value, for