Tech-Heavy Nasdaq Jumps To Four-Month Closing High

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved notably higher during trading on Tuesday, more than offsetting the moderate weakness seen in the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a four-month closing high, while the Dow and the S&P 500 rose to their best closing levels in almost a month.

Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.3 percent. With the gain, the index reached a nearly one-month closing high.

The rally by gold stocks came despite a decrease by the price of the precious metal, as gold for February delivery dipped $1.80 to $1,063.50 an ounce.

Considerable strength was also visible among pharmaceutical stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. Valeant (VRX) helped lead the sector higher, surging up by 9.8 percent.

Airline, computer hardware, health care, and brokerage stocks also saw significant strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session near their best levels of the day. The Dow jumped 168.43 points or 1 percent to 17,888.35, the Nasdaq surged up 47.64 points or 0.9 percent to 5,156.31 and the S&P 500 soared 22.22 points or 1.1 percent to 2,102.63.