The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record on Tuesday as the floodgates opened for companies reporting how much profit they made during the summer.

The Dow rose 218 points, or 0.5 per cent, and topped its prior all-time high, which was set early this month. The S&P 500 index, which is much more important on Wall Street and dictates the performance of many more 401(k) accounts, was essentially flat and finished 0.3 per cent below its own record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2 per cent.

The Australian sharemarket is set to retreat, with futures pointing to a loss of 45 points, or 0.5 per cent, at the open. The ASX added 0.7 per cent on Tuesday. The Australian dollar was fetching US64.89¢ at 7.45am AEDT.

On Wall Street, 3M helped drive the Dow to its record after reporting big

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