Investing.com -- U.S. stocks surged on Tuesday, closing the day near session-highs, as a rally in persistently sluggish oil prices and financial stocks provided a boost to the major indices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 222.44 or 1.26% to 17,928.35, while the NASDAQ Composite index gained 59.67 or 1.26% to 4,809.88, as stocks on Wall Street closed higher for the third consecutive session. With the sharp gains, the Dow enjoyed its strongest one-day session in two months. At one point, shares in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) all reached all-time intraday highs. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, added 25.70 or 1.25% to 2,084.39, as all 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Basic Materials, Industrials and Energy industries led, each gaining more than 1% on the session.
The top performer on the Dow was Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which added 3.91 or 2.48 to 161.42. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) finished just ahead of CAT, which gained 1.73 or 2.44% to 72.51. Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) erased most of its losses from the previous session, when it closed as the worst performer on the Dow, amid a 2% decline in gold futures and other major commodities on the day. The worst performer was Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which fell 0.16 or 0.23% to 68.79. It came as Wal-Mart filed a civil lawsuit against V on Tuesday to recoup losses from Visa's pricing strategy regarding the major credit card's signature transaction. Under the suit, Wal-Mart alleges that Visa charges higher rates for signature transactions in comparison to pin transactions through debit card purchases. In total, only two Dow components closed in the red on Tuesday.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was TripAdvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP), which surged 3.01 or 4.77% to 66.10. Trip Advisor, one of the world's largest travel websites, saw its shares jump after releasing its Summer Vacation Value report earlier in the session. Citing an industry survey, TripAdvisor found that 88% of respondents are planning on taking a summer vacation in 2016, up 6% from last year. The worst performer was Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:NCLH), which fell 2.36 or 4.79% to 46.89 after slightly missing revenues and earnings forecasts during the first quarter.
The top performer on the S&P was Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (NYSE:DNB), which surged 8.15 or 7.29% to 119.91. Dun & Bradstreet finished just ahead of Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE:LUK), which added 1.00 or 5.98% to 17.72 after the New York-based holding company announced that it acquired ITG Investment Research from Investment Technology Group for an undisclosed amount. The worst performer was Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS), which plunged 2.51 or 11.51% to 19.30. It came one day after the struggling retailer warned that it will fail to meet analysts' first quarter earnings and revenue expectations, as lower traffic has triggered further discounting among its Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy divisions.
"We believe big data analytics and related research will be an increasingly valuable and important source of insight for investors and businesses, and are pleased to be acquiring one of the leading and longest-standing efforts in the field," Leucadia CEO Richard Handler said in a statement.
Also, shares in Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) rose by more than 1% ahead of the release of its first quarter earnings after the bell. Analysts expect strong growth from Disney on the period, driven by gains among its movie studio and theme park segments.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,353-705 margin.