New York - Solid earnings and major pharmaceutical-sector deals lifted stocks onTuesday, producing a sixth straight day of gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.02 points (0.40%) to 16,514.27, the third day in a row to see a gain.
The S&P 500 added 7.72 (0.41%) at 1,879.61, while the Nasdaq put on 39.91 (0.97%t) to 4,161.46.
A series of deals between Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly shuffled more than $20bn in assets.
The market was also cheered by a plethora of earnings that mostly beat expectations.
"If you look at the market overall, we see a lot of beats in terms of earnings," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.
Levy said the tech stocks have reemerged as leaders after languishing for much of March and early April.
"The market sentiment seems to have turned much more positive," he said.