Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose broadly on Tuesday reversing some of their recent losses, amid weak global manufacturing data, as factory activity in both the U.S. and China slumped to multi-year lows in November.
The Federal Reserve is keeping a close eye on economic indicators over the next two weeks ahead of its critical monetary policy meeting on December 15-16, where the U.S. central bank could raise short-term interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. A rate hike is largely viewed as bearish for U.S. equities, as investors exit their positions and pile into bonds in order to take advantage of higher yields.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 168.43 or 0.95% to close at 17,888.35, while the NASDAQ Composite index added 47.64 or 0.93% to 5,156.31, amid gains in pharmaceutical and semiconductor stocks. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, jumped 22.22 or 1.07% to 2,102.63, as all 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Financials and Technology sectors led, each gaining more than 1% on the session. The three major indices all closed higher for November, posting their second consecutive monthly gain for the first time since the spring.
The top performer on the Dow was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH), which gained 3.55 or 3.15% to close the session at 116.26. On Tuesday morning, UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley defended the company's potential departure from the Obamacare health exchanges, describing its move to offer insurance on exchanges in more than 20 states as a bad decision. UnitedHealth Group is the largest insurer in the U.S. The worst performer was Caterpillar Inc (N:CAT), which fell 1.09 or 1.50% to 71.56.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Wynn Resorts Limited (O:WYNN), which jumped 4.04 or 6.44% to 66.81, amid high volume. Of 15 analysts' valuations of the multinational casino and entertainment resort, five currently rate it as a buy and another 10 rate it as a hold at a PE ratio around 32. Wynn shares traded at nearly three times the level of its average daily volume on Tuesday. The worst performer was VimpelCom (O:VIP), which fell 0.20 or 5.56% to 3.40 on Tuesday. Shares in the Russian telecom company are down by more than 35% over the last year.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was CONSOL Energy Inc (N:CNX), which gained 0.77 or 9.77% to 8.65, as strong demand for coal in India hampered negotiations at the United Nations' Climate Conference outside Paris. India is reportedly looking to increase its production of the fossil fuel to 1.5 billion metric tons by 2020, compounding the need for coal abroad. The worst performer was Cummins Inc (N:CMI), which plunged 7.92 or 7.89% to 92.45, after the Indiana-based diesel engine manufacturer received a downgrade from analysts at Bank of America Corporation (N:BAC). It came amid increasing risks for further devaluation of the yuan.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,178 to 908 margin.