US stocks have closed decisively higher following strong reports on consumer confidence and the housing market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.96 (0.84 per cent) to 13,900.13 on Tuesday.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 9.09 (0.61 per cent) to 1,496.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 13.40 (0.43 per cent) to 3,129.65.

The buoyant trading came after reports showed surprisingly robust new home sales and consumer confidence.

The Conference Board’s February consumer confidence index jumped to 69.6 from 58.4 in January, well above the average analyst estimate of a 62.0 reading.

Stocks were also aided by congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who reaffirmed the Fed’s aggressive stimulus program would remain in effect until economic conditions improve.

Dow member Home Depot surged 5.7 per cent after reporting better-than-expected earnings and announcing a $US17 billion ($A16.70 billion) share repurchase program and a 34 per cent hike in its quarterly dividend.

Home Depot competitor, Lowe’s gained 2.0 per cent.

Another Dow component, Intel, picked up 1.7 per cent after announcing a semiconductor pact with Altera.

Hewlett-Packard rose 3.8 per cent after announcing a deal to sell its webOS technology to television manufacturer LG Electronics for an undisclosed sum.

Department store giant Macy’s rose 2.8 per cent after besting analyst expectations and announcing solid 2013 earnings guidance.

High-end retail chain Saks picked up 1.6 per cent after reporting earnings that were slightly better than expectations.

Drug manufacturer Vivus slumped 12.3 per cent after reporting deeper losses in the most recent quarter compared with a year ago.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year bond fell to 1.88 per cent from 1.90 per cent late Monday, while the 30-year fell to 3.08 per cent from 3.09 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.