US stocks ended higher in a holiday-shortened session on Tuesday, helped by more takeover talks and news that Apple could see higher-than-expected profit margins from its iPhone.

In economic news, the Commerce Department has found that new factory orders fell a smaller than expected 0.5 per cent in May, however, it was the first decline in four months. Transportation equipment orders, the largest category of factory orders, fell 6.9 per cent in May; and if defense orders were stripped out, factory orders slipped 0.6 per cent.

In other economic news, the National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales sank to 97.7 in May from 101.2 in April. That represents a nearly six year low in the number of homes under contract. The association said the numbers mean existing home sales are likely to see more declines in coming months.