Major Averages Close Sharply Higher But Off Best Levels

(RTTNews) - After moving moderately higher in early trading on Tuesday, stocks saw further upside as the day progressed before closing sharply higher. The strong gains on the day more than offset the pullback seen in the previous session.

Transportation stocks showed a substantial move to the upside over the course of the trading day, driving the Dow Jones Transportation Average up by 1.9 percent. With the gain, the average reached its best closing level in almost a month.

UPS (UPS), Avis Budget Group (CAR), and Matson (MATX) turned in some of the transportation sector's best performances on the day.

Significant strength also emerged among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Software Index. Industry giant Microsoft (MSFT) helped to lead the software sector higher, jumping by 2.2 percent.

Banking stocks also saw considerable strength, resulting in a 1.7 percent advance by the Dow Jones Banks Index. U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Bank of America (BAC) posted standout gains.

Most of the other major sectors also moved higher on the day, with notable strength visible among oil service, internet, and brokerage stocks.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained firmly positive. The Dow soared 228.89 points or 1.4 percent to 16,599.85, the Nasdaq jumped 54.76 points or 1.1 percent to 4,860.52 and the S&P 500 surged up 25.06 points or 1.3 percent to 1,978.09.