S&P 500 on track for first record close since July

(Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose to an all-time intraday high on Tuesday and was on track for a record close, lifted by investor confidence that the Federal Reserve is set to begin cutting interest rates, erasing the last of a deep selloff that lasted through late July and early August.

The S&P 500 was last up 0.64%, to 5,669.06. The index's previous record high close was 5,667.2 points on July 16.

Encouraging economic data and expectations of a hefty interest rate cut have largely helped the S&P 500 recover after fears of an imminent recession sent the benchmark index down more than 8.5% over three weeks through Aug. 5.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich and Purvi Agarwal; Editing by Pooja Desai)