S&P 500 moves closer to record high; Amazon, Alphabet help

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 inched nearer to a record high on Tuesday, lifted by Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft, and by a strong second-quarter earnings season that fueled optimism about the strength in the U.S. economy.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 126.73 points, or 0.5 percent, to 25,628.91, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 8.05 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,858.45 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 23.99 points, or 0.31 percent, to 7,883.66.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; editing by Jonathan Oatis)