The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher on Tuesday for a second straight day after softer-than-expected inflation numbers added to investor optimism from Monday when the United States and China announced a trade truce. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says, however, that the Dow fell, with its biggest drag a 17.8-per-cent slide in shares of UnitedHealth after the insurance player suspended its annual forecast and its chief executive officer stepped down. Canada's main stock index rose for a sixth straight day, helped by gains for energy and financial shares, coming within fewer than 300 points away from its all-time high. The S&P 500 closed with a year-to-date gain for the first time since late February after data showed that U.S. consumer prices rebounded moderately in April, with headline inflation increasing 0.2 per cent last month. "The sustainability of the carry-through from yesterday is positive. There was nothing in CPI to throw it off," said Carol Schleif at BMO Private Wealth. Traders leaned in to bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve would hold off on lowering interest rates until September, while still anticipating two 25-basis-point cuts by year-end.