Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday from a massive sell-off one session earlier, as the parties in longstanding Greek Debt and Iranian Nuclear talks sent indications that negotiations could drag into next week.
One day after crashing more than 350 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the month on a high note by rising modestly. The NASDAQ Composite index and S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, also posted minor gains on the final day of trading in the first half of the year. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 ended the first half slightly in positive territory, while the Dow concluded the first six months of the year down by roughly 1%.
On Tuesday, the Dow gained 23.16 or 0.13% to 17,619.51, while the NASDAQ rose 28.40 or 0.57% to close at 4,986.87. The S&P 500 also gained 5.48 or 0.27% to 2,063.12, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Energy, Health Care and Financials sectors led, each closing higher by more than 0.4%. Stocks in the Telecommunications and Utilities industries lagged.
Shares in Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) spiked by nearly 6% on Tuesday to 36.24, after rumors resurfaced that the social networking giant could consider a merger with a larger tech company, according to Barron's. Twitter has encountered a rough stretch in recent weeks after CEO Dick Costolo announced his resignation earlier this month.
Fitbit shares, meanwhile, surged more than 14% to 38.09 after RBC initiated coverage by providing the California-based activity tracker device company with an outperform rating. Earlier this month, Fitbit shares soared more than 50% on its first day as a publicly traded stock.
The top performer on the Dow was Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which gained 1.09 or 0.96% to 114.14 after the company promoted Christine McCarthy to be its first-ever female chief financial officer. McCarthy, who formerly served as the company's executive vice president and treasurer, succeeds Jay Rasulo. The worst performer was Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which lost 0.49 or 0.69% to 70.93.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), which gained 4.74 or 5.05% to 98.67 amid a turnaround in its Chinese resort in Macau. Last month, VIP gaming revenue in Macau increased 3% while gaming overall at the resort rose by 9%, according to data from Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN). The worst performer was Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC), which dipped 3.54 or 4.32% to 78.42.
The top performer on the S&P was Pentair, which gained 4.32 or 6.70% to 68.75 after activist shareholder Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management declared a 7.24% stake in the pump and valve maker. Western Digital was also the worst performer on the S&P 500, just below Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) which fell 1.44 or 3.84% to 36.10, one day after a potential major merger with US Foods collapsed.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1,979 to 1,202 margin.