S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite clinch record closes Tuesday to start first session in December

U.S. stock benchmarks on Tuesday ended solidly higher, though off their richest levels of the session. The gains, however, were enough to register an all-time closing high for the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index , as the optimism behind the November market rally extended into a new month and investors appeared to pin bullishness on the day to hope for further fiscal relief from Washington, even if the roadmap to get there appears…