US close: Stocks rally on economic data, oil price recovery
US stocks rallied on Tuesday after an upbeat batch of economic data and an uptick in oil prices.
At close of trading Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.10%, the Nasdaq increased 1.33% and the S&P 500 climbed 1.05%.
The US Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose to 96.5 in December from 92.6 the previous month, comfortably beating economists’ expectations for a reading of 93.6.
The US S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-20 house price index rose 5.5% year-on-year in October, compared to analysts’ estimates of 5.6% and the previous month’s 5.45%.
Data from the Census Bureau showed the US trade deficit on goods in November narrowed to $60.5bn from an upward revised $61.96bn the previous month.
Analysts had been expecting a deficit of $60.7bn in November. Imports fell 1.8% last month while exports dropped 2%.
Meanwhile, oil prices recovered after crude dropped more than 3% on Monday. West Texas Intermediate was up 2.7% at $37.85 a barrel while Brent crude was 3.1% firmer, at $37.79 per barrel.
Oil was being weighed down by news that Saudi Arabia was planning to cut its public budget to combat a prolonged slump as well as reports that Iran plans to up exports by 500,000 barrels a day once economic sanctions are removed.
On the corporate front, Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com rose to all-time highs as the S&P information-technology sector was the best performer on the index, up 1.3%.
Willis Group Holding and Towers Watson & Co. were sitting higher after the S&P Dow Jones Indices announced late on Monday that Willis Tower Watson will join the S&P 500. The companies are in the process of merging.
Pep Boys surged after billionaire investor Carl Icahn raised his bid for the car parts and repair chain to value it at $1bn.
In currencies, the greenback was 0.32% higher against the euro, up 0.39% against the pound and up 0.05% against the yen.
S&P 500 - Risers
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.58 +12.53%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $8.24 +4.70%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $48.81 +3.32%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $127.87 +3.16%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $12.71 +3.00%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $693.97 +2.78%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $17.70 +2.67%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $54.59 +2.65%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $50.88 +2.62%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $70.12 +2.60%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $6.76 -1.31%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $8.20 -1.20%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $8.17 -0.85%
Graham Holdings Co. (GHC) $507.51 -0.72%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $489.99 -0.72%
Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) $63.59 -0.63%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $9.56 -0.62%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.82 -0.62%
Deere & Co. (DE) $77.64 -0.42%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $28.87 -0.38%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $147.35 +1.94%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $108.74 +1.80%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $27.77 +1.68%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $67.57 +1.65%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $139.78 +1.58%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.44 +1.46%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $61.61 +1.42%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $114.98 +1.32%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.83 +1.26%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $119.82 +1.26%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $107.14 -0.10%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $237.19 +3.60%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $194.17 +3.25%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $127.87 +3.16%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $693.97 +2.78%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $50.88 +2.62%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $70.12 +2.60%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.65 +2.38%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,302.86 +2.35%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $61.85 +2.03%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $40.25 +2.00%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $9.56 -0.62%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $45.67 -0.33%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $34.23 -0.03%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.31 -0.00%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $63.18 -0.00%