Wall Street closes higher with gains in auto stocks

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - A rally by automotive stocks pushed Wall Street to a higher close Tuesday after the heads of the big three American carmakers met with President Donald Trump at the White House.

"We're reducing taxes, substantially, and unnecessary regulations," to give a "very big push" to American companies and bring manufacturing back to the U.S., Trump said after meeting with General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler.

General Motors and Ford posted gains of 1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, while shares of Fiat Chrysler soared 5.8 percent.

At the final bell, the Dow was up 112 points to 19,912.

The S&P added 14 points to finish the day at 2,280 and the Nasdaq rose 48 points to 5,600 -- both closing at record levels.