Investing.com -- U.S. stocks closed broadly higher on Tuesday erasing losses late in the session, even as domestic crude futures dipped below $30 a barrel for the first time since December, 2003, extending their sharp, prolonged downturn.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 117.65 or 0.72% to 16,516.22, while the NASDAQ Composite index added 47.93 or 1.03% to 4,685.92, halting an eight-day losing streak, which dated back to the end of last year. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, gained 15.01 or 0.78% to 1,938.68, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Technology, and Industrials sectors led, while stocks in the Utilities and Telecommunications industries lagged.
The major indices are down roughly 5% since the start of the new year, amid a major sell-off in China equity markets and the continued fall in oil prices. On Tuesday, analysts from J.P. Morgan and RBS (L:RBS) cautioned investors to avoid buying opportunities upon indications of further declines in the coming months.
The top performer on the Dow was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH), which added 2.68 or 2.45% to 112.26 in the wake of reports that its new mobile app has helped lower medical costs and hospital readmission rates dramatically. The worst performer was EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (N:DD), which lost 0.58 or 0.98% to 58.60. Last week, DuPont launched the first of a series of layoffs, which will result in the loss of 1,700 positions.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Cognizant Technology Solutions (O:CTSH), after the New Jersey-based informational technology services company reaffirmed it full-year forecasts on Tuesday. Previously, Cognizant forecast that its revenues will rise on an annual basis for fiscal year 2015 by at least 20%. The worst performer was ICTY, which fell 4.10 or 4.45% to 88.09, one day after the Delaware-based pharmaceutical company announced developments with its lung cancer collaborative trial with AstraZeneca.
Cognizant was also the top performer on the S&P 500 ahead of Anthem Inc (N:ANTM), which added 7.24 or 5.64% to 135.60, after agreeing to terms on a contract with Exact Sciences Corp. a molecular diagnostics company focused on the early detection and prevention of serious, life-threatening forms of cancer. Under the agreement, Exact Sciences announced that its Cologuard screening platform for prospective colorectal cancer patients will now be covered by Anthem BlueCross of California. The worst performer on the S&P 500 was Williams Companies Inc (N:WMB), which fell 2.15 or 11.50% to 16.54, amid the current slide in oil prices. Over the last year, shares in Williams Companies have slumped by more than 50%.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing issues by a 1,596-1,456 margin.