S&P, Nasdaq hit record closing highs on earnings bullishness

Amazon.com, Apple fall in late trade after quarterly reports; Caterpillar, Merck rise after posting higher profits

Wall Street closed higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq boasting record closing levels thanks partly to gains in Apple and Amazon, while solid results from companies including Caterpillar and Merck helped ease concerns about slowing economic growth denting profits.

After the bell, however, shares of both Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc moved sharply lower following the release of quarterly results.

Amazon was down 4% in extended trading after forecasting holiday-quarter sales below Wall Street expectations.

Apple fell more than 3% in late trading after it said supply-chain woes cost it $6 billion in sales in the last quarter and that