NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks edged higher Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial average setting a closing record, as the earnings reporting period got underway with Alcoa after the bell.

The Dow (up 9.36 to 11,867.17, Charts) was up slightly, scratching out a record closing high less than a point above the previous record of 11,866.69 set last Thursday.

The world's most widely watched stock market gauge also set a record trading high of 11,877.90 during the session.

The broader S&P 500 (up 2.76 to 1,353.42, Charts) index edged up 0.2 percent while the tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (up 3.66 to 2,315.43, Charts) also gained nearly 0.2 percent.

The major gauges rose earlier in the session after the announcement of a Google-YouTube deal late Monday.

But trade turned choppy by late morning with investors a bit reluctant at the start of another earnings reporting period.

Overall, stocks have risen across the board for five out of six sessions after a surprisingly strong quarter on Wall Street.

"The market has pushed higher, even during bad news," said Brian Piskorowski, market analyst at Wachovia Securities. "But one needs to take a look at how far we've come and what's coming into play."

"The big picture is that we're on the cusp of earnings season," Piskorowski said. "And you have a market that's looking to take a wait-and-see type of approach."

Earnings reports from Gannett (Charts), Yum! Brands (Charts), Costco (Charts), PepsiCo (Charts) and Dow component GE (Charts) are all slated for later in the week. The next three weeks will see most of the S&P 500 report results for the quarter.

After the closing bell Tuesday, aluminum maker Alcoa (up $0.30 to $28.29, Charts) said its third-quarter profit almost doubled as revenue increased. But results came in below estimates, sending shares lower in extended trade.

Genentech (down $0.68 to $85.60, Charts) fell after hours after the world's No. 2 biotechnology company reported higher third-quarter profit but lower sales of certain cancer drugs.

Bed Bath & Beyond (down $0.06 to $39.93, Charts) was also lower on Inet after the home goods retailer said it expected to take some charges related to the review of stock-options.

On the upside, BMC Software (up $0.45 to $28.66, Charts) raised its outlook for the fiscal second quarter.

During the regular trading session, grocery-store chain Supervalu (up $1.38 to $32.39, Charts) shares rose more than 4 percent after the company posted a second-quarter profit that almost quadrupled.

Shares of ImClone Systems (up $1.19 to $31.09, Charts) added nearly 4 percent after the biotech said David Kies resigned as chairman and William Crouse resigned as director.

CVS (up $0.00 to $29.72, Charts) raised its earnings outlook for the third quarter and full year and said September sales at stores open at least a year rose 8.8 percent.

After the close Monday, Google (down $2.35 to $426.65, Charts) announced a $1.6 billion deal for YouTube, the video sharing and streaming service.

And shares of Dow component Exxon Mobil (up $0.65 to $67.20, Charts) zigzagged after Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the nation's biggest oil company.

Of the 30 blue chips in the Dow, 15 rose and 15 fell.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners barely beat losers on volume of 1.5 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers edged out decliners on volume of 1.8 billion shares.

In economic news, wholesale inventories jumped 1.1 percent in August, the Commerce Department said. Wall Street analysts were expecting inventories to rise 0.6 percent after climbing 0.8 percent in July.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes from their Sept. 20 meeting. September's retail sales report is due out on Friday.

COMEX gold for December delivery fell $6.60 to $576.20 an ounce.

U.S. light sweet crude oil sank $1.44 to $58.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices were also lower, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.75 percent from 4.69 percent in trading late Friday. Treasurys did not trade Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday.

The dollar continued its rally against the euro and the yen that followed the North Korea test claim.

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