U.S. market indexes were higher on Tuesday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18547.30 for a gain of 17.88 points or 0.10 percent. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2186.90 for a gain of 4.26 points or 0.20 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5260.08 for a gain of 15.47 points or 0.29 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was higher for the day at 12.40 for a gain of 0.13 points or 1.06 percent.

Tuesday’s Market Movers

Manufacturing was a key focus on the economic calendar for the day. The PMI Manufacturing Index was down slightly to 52.1 from 52.9 and below consensus of 53.2. The Richmond Manufacturing Index was also lower at -11 following a reading of 10 in the previous month. In the housing market, new home sales gained. The New Home Sales report showed new home sales at 654,000 SAAR which was above consensus of 580,000 and up from the previous month’s 582,000.

Market indexes regained ground on Tuesday after losses. Continued growth in the housing market and positive support for a rate increase helped stocks to gain.

For the day the following stocks reported the highest volume of trading:

Bank of America
Chesapeake Energy
Best Buy
Ford
General Electric
Marathon Oil
Applied Materials
Cisco

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains:

Gains (percent)
Nike Inc B            1.64
Cisco Systems Inc             1.14
Pfizer Inc              0.72
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co     0.7
The Home Depot Inc       0.65

In the broad market, materials and energy led gains. Technology was also higher for the day. In the technology sector the following stocks led gains:

Gains (percent)
Liberty Media Corp          9.53
Discovery Communications Inc Class B    6.02
Applied Materials Inc      2.71
Liberty Global PLC Class B             1.9

In commodities, gold traded flat for the day with no change in the SPDR Gold Trust. The dollar was up slightly with the U.S. Dollar Index gaining 0.02 points or 0.02 percent to 94.55.

Small-Cap Stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index was higher at 1248.58 for a gain of 8.84 points or 0.71 percent. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index was higher at 756.14 for a gain of 5.37 points or 0.72 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index was higher at 7620.04 for a gain of 51.46 points or 0.68 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index was higher at 8795.86 for a gain of 46.71 points or 0.53 percent.

Other Notable Indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1571.26 for a gain of 7.58 points or 0.48 percent; the S&P 100 Index closing at 965.39 for a gain of 1.24 points or 0.13 percent; the Russell 3000 Index at 1293.82 for a gain of 3.38 points or 0.26 percent; the Russell 1000 Index at 1211.83 for a gain of 2.73 points or 0.23 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 620.59 for a gain of 0.90 points or 0.15 percent.