Major Averages Close Firmly Positive, S&P 500 Back Above 1,800

(RTTNews) - With traders reacting positively to new Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's first day of Congressional testimony, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday. The strong gains on the day extended the upward trend shown by the markets over the past few sessions.

Gold stocks saw substantial strength throughout the session, adding to the strong gains posted in the two previous sessions. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 4.2 percent, reaching its best closing level in over three months.

The strength among gold stocks came amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for April delivery climbing $15.10 to $1,289.80 an ounce.

Significant strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. AK Steel (AKS) and Steel Dynamics (STLD) turned in two of the sector's best performances.

Oil service stocks also showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.2 percent. The gains came even though the price of crude oil ended the day modestly lower.

Railroad, defense, retail, and semiconductor stocks also saw considerable strength, reflecting broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory, with the S&P 500 climbing back above 1,800. While the S&P 500 jumped 19.91 points or 1.1 percent to 1,819.75, the Dow surged up 192.98 points or 1.2 percent to 15,994.77 and the Nasdaq climbed 42.87 points or 1 percent to 4,191.04.