Wall Street stocks powered to fresh records on Tuesday, shrugging off a threat from President-elect Donald Trump to enact new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.

The Dow Jones finished up 0.3 percent at 44,860, its third straight closing record.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent to 6,021, also a record, while the Nasdaq gained 0.6 percent to 19,174.

Trump, who doesn't take office until January 20, made his threat in social media posts on Monday night, announcing huge import tariffs against neighbours Canada and Mexico and also China, if they do not stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the United States.

Investors view Trump's inclination towards trade protectionism as a headwind to economic growth and higher equity prices. But Tuesday's response suggests the market views the warning as a bargaining chip.

"In theory, higher tariffs should not be good news for stocks. But, you know, I think the market's chosen to think of (it) as a negotiating tactic," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.

"You have bullish sentiment," said LBBW's Karl Haeling. "People are tending to look at things as positively as possible."

In other economic news, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 111.7 this month, up from 109.6 in October, boosted by greater optimism surrounding the labour market.

Among individual companies, Best Buy tumbled 4.9 percent as it cut its full-year sales outlook after a big slowdown in sales leading into the presidential election. The electronics retailer said sales have rebounded since the election.

Other retailers also fell, including Burlington Stores, down 1.6 percent; Dick's Sporting Goods, down 1.4 percent; and Kohl's, down 17 percent.

Amgen dropped 4.8 percent after reporting that trials of its MariTide drug led to weight loss of up to 20 percent after 52 weeks. The drop in shares appeared to show disappointment that the impact was not even greater. (AFP)