US tech stocks send Nasdaq to hit record high, as Alphabet beats forecasts

US tech stocks have catapulted the Nasdaq to a record high as investors bet on strong earnings from corporate heavyweights. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.8 percent on Tuesday, as Google's parent company Alphabet reported forecast-beating earnings for the third quarter. Alphabet's revenue jumped 15 percent to 88.3bn during the July-September period, while profit surged 34 percent to 26.3 bn. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company was experiencing "extraordinary" momentum due to the strong performance of its search and cloud businesses as well as its focus on innovation, including artificial intelligence. "Our commitment to innovation, as well as our long-term focus and investment in AI, are paying off and driving success for the company and for our customers," Pichai said on an earnings call.