The Dow was up 42 points, the S&P 500 was up 3 points, and the Nasdaq was up 3 points.
Earlier on Tuesday, the latest report on durable goods orders showed orders rose 22.6% in July, a new record increase for the index. This number was largely influence by a surge in aircraft orders during July, which some analysts attributed to the London Farnborough Airshow held in July.
The S&P Case-Shiller home price index declined for the second straight month, and for the first time February 2008, all cities in the 20-city index showed lower annual rates than the previous month.
The Richmond Federal Reserve's latest manufacturing report came in at a 12 for the headline composite reading, better than the 7 that was expected by economists.
The Conference Board's latest report on consumer confidence for August came in at 92.4, topping expectations for 89 and better than July's revised reading of 90.3.
Burger King and Tim Horton's officially announced their plan to merge in a deal that will create a new company based in Canada. The deal has also recieved a $3 billion financing commitment from Warren Buffett, and the new combined company will be 51% owned by 3G Capital, which currently own 70% of Burger King.
Buffett previously worked with 3G Capital, a Brazilian private equity firm, when Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired H.J. Heinz in 2013.
Shares of both Burger King and Tim Horton's, which rallied on Monday, were higher on Tuesday, with Burger King gaining about 1% and Tim Horton's adding another 9%.
Also higher was DSW, up 10% after the footwear retailer reported earnings and sales that beat expectations.