U.S. equities closed higher Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.30% as broad-based gains lifted major benchmarks. The S&P 500 added 0.32% to 7,677.28, while the NASDAQ Composite climbed 0.66%.
Advancing issues outpaced decliners on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. At the NYSE, 1,527 stocks rose against 1,172 declines, with 104 unchanged. On the Nasdaq, 2,036 stocks advanced while 1,380 declined, and 179 ended flat.
Technology, basic materials and healthcare shares led sector gains. The CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of expected market swings, fell 2.52% to 15.45, indicating reduced near-term risk sentiment.
Among Dow components, Merck & Co led gains with a 3.84% rise to $156.45, marking an all-time high. Goldman Sachs added 2.18% to $1,058.88, while NVIDIA gained 2.17% to $213.00. Decliners included Nike, down 3.12% to $39.48, and McDonald's, which fell 1.63% to $268.10.
In the S&P 500, Moderna surged 14.36% to $158.83, while Super Micro Computer advanced 9.35% to $38.46. On the downside, Albemarle dropped 5.89% to $133.18, and LyondellBasell fell 4.06% to $62.55.
The NASDAQ Composite saw outsized moves in smaller names, including Xiao I Corp, which jumped 186.28% to $1.31, and Netcapital, up 126.83% to $0.58. Conversely, Flash Sports & Media Holdings tumbled 56.54% to $0.10, and OSR Holdings sank 53.40% to $0.12, both hitting record lows.
Commodities diverged as gold futures rose 0.44% to $4,718.49 per troy ounce. Crude oil futures declined, with West Texas Intermediate for October delivery down 5.13% to $80.65 per barrel, and Brent crude for November delivery falling 5.58% to $85.49 per barrel. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.11% to 98.82, while the euro was little changed at $1.17 against the dollar. The yen weakened 0.05% to 159.19 per dollar.
