U.S. market indexes were higher Tuesday as markets awaited the Brexit vote on Thursday and Janet Yellen gave a speech before the Senate Banking Committee. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17829.73 for a gain of 24.86 points or 0.14 percent. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2088.90 for a gain of 5.65 points or 0.27 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 4843.76 for a gain of 6.55 points or 0.14 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 18.45 for a gain of 0.08 points or 0.44 percent.

Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

Tuesday’s Market Movers

Janet Yellen gave a semi-annual testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday which reaffirmed the Fed’s cautious stance on rate increases. Yellen also noted that a U.K. exit vote would be significant for global economies and could potentially affect the path of rates.

Stocks continued to trade higher for the day despite uncertainty about a U.K. exit vote. Polls still continued to show sentiment against an exit.

Stocks trading actively for the day with gains included Bank of America, Apple, Microsoft and General Electric.

Lennar also traded actively for the day as the stock reported earnings and provided indications for housing market growth overall. The company reported second quarter revenue of $2.75 billion, up 5.1 percent from the comparable quarter. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.95.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, top stocks gaining for the day included:

Gains (percent)

Microsoft 2.24

JPMorgan 0.93

Apple 0.87

Nike 0.75

Pfizer 0.72

Top sectors for the broad market were energy and technology. In technology, the Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 4843.76 for a gain of 6.55 points or 0.14 percent.  The Nasdaq 100 was also higher at 4413.40 for a gain of 13.25 points or 0.30 percent. In the technology sector the following stocks led gains:

Gains (percent)

Micron Technology 3.49

Western Digital 2.65

Microsoft 2.24

Symantec 2.2

Seagate Technology 1.84

In commodities, gold traded lower as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a loss of -2.37 points or -1.92 percent. The dollar was higher for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.45 points or 0.48 percent to 94.09.

Small-Cap Stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 was lower, closing at 1153.87 for a loss of -3.83 points or -0.33 percent. The S&P 600 closed at 708.28 for a loss of -1.76 points or -0.25 percent. The DJ Small-Cap Growth TSM closed at 7069.43 for a loss of -20.63 points or -0.29 percent. The DJ Small-Cap Value TSM closed at 8336.75 for a loss of -6.13 points or -0.07 percent.

Other Notable Indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index which closed at 1494.67 for a loss of -0.31 points or -0.02; the S&P 100 which closed at 922.05 for a gain of 2.78 points or 0.30 percent; the Russell 3000 which closed at 1232.07 for a gain of 2.36 point or 0.19 percent; the Russell 1000 which closed at 1156.80 for a gain of 2.71 points or 0.23 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index which closed at 600.79 for a gain of 0.78 points or 0.13 percent.