NEW YORK - U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to a record, as biotechnology and energy companies rallied and data on construction spending boosted confidence in the economy.
Biogen Idec Inc. led gains in health care shares after its Alzheimer's drug showed promising early results. Energy shares climbed 1.3 percent even as oil resumed a sell-off, while railroads surged the most in a month. Genworth Financial Inc. slid 5.9 percent as JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its price target on the shares.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.6 percent to 2,066.55, for the largest gain since Oct. 31. The Dow Jones industrial average added 102.75 points, or 0.6 percent, to an all-time high of 17,879.55. The Russell 2000 index of small companies jumped 1.3 percent after dropping 1.6 percent Monday. About 6.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.
"The economy seems to be fine and nothing is changing that narrative," said James W. Gaul, a portfolio manager at Boston Advisors, which oversees about $2.8 billion. "The energy sector is up while oil is down. Maybe the thought is the sector fell too far, too fast. Health care is being led by biotechnology stocks, mainly Biogen Idec."
The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent Monday, the most since Oct. 22, as weaker data on Black Friday sales and China manufacturing overshadowed a rebound in oil prices and expansion in American factories.
Data Tuesday showed construction spending grew more than estimated in October.
Oil resumed its declines Tuesday, as West Texas Intermediate fell 3.1 percent. Crude has collapsed into a bear market amid the highest U.S. output in more than three decades and signs of slowing growth of global demand.
Two of the Federal Reserve's most influential policymakers said sharply lower crude prices will boost spending and aid U.S. growth. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer and New York Fed President William Dudley, speaking at separate events Monday in New York, both stressed the positive economic impact from the steepest decline in oil prices for five years.
