Stock market extends gains on to a third straight day

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Tuesday, extending the market’s winning streak to a third day.

The latest gains, which followed a rally in global stocks, were driven by optimism that the global economy will begin to recover as governments gradually allow businesses that were closed due to the coronavirus outbreak to reopen.

The S&P 500 closed 0.8 percent higher after spending much of the morning wavering. Technology, industrial and health care sector stocks accounted for a big slice of the gains. Energy stocks far outpaced the rest of the market as the price of crude oil rose again. Bond yields rose, another sign of ebbing pessimism among investors.

So far, Wall Street’s momentum has not been derailed by the wave of daily unrest across the U.S. that began last week in Minneapolis as a protest over police brutality. Cities across the country have been rocked by violence and destruction for seven days in a row, drawing threats from the White House to send troops in to put down the unrest.

The S&P 500 gained 25.09 points to 3,080.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 267.63 points, or 1.1 percent, to 25,742.65. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology companies, added 56.33 points, or 0.6 percent, to 9,608.37. The index had been down 0.8 percent in the early going.

Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index picked up 12.84 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,418.21.