Investing.com -- U.S. stocks remained near multi-month highs despite a late pullback on Tuesday, as comments from Janet Yellen triggered a relief rally of sorts, briefly pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 18,000 for the first time in more than a month.
Investors on Wall Street continued to digest Yellen's closely-watched speech from the previous session when the chair of the Federal Reserve outlined a wide range of factors contributing to the extreme uncertainty in the global economy at large. At the same time, many economists struggled to characterize the tone of Yellen's speech, helping slightly bolster investor sentiment. Had Yellen offered broad signals that the Fed could be on the verge of delaying the timing of future policy tightening, the major indices could have recoiled following an extremely weak U.S. monthly employment report last week. Yellen reversed course during Monday's speech in Philadelphia, removing explicit references to the timing of the Fed's next rate hike.
The Dow added 17.95 or 0.10% to 17,938.28, while the S&P 500 Composite index gained 2.72 or 0.13% to 2,112.13, lingering near 7-month highs from Monday's session. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, fell 6.96 or 0.14% to 4,961.75, as biotech stocks weighed. On the S&P 500, seven of 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Energy and Telecom sector led. Stocks in the energy industry received a boost from the latest rally on the futures' market after WTI crude closed above $50 a barrel for the first time since last July.
The oil rally boosted Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)shares which surged 2.10 or 2.08% to 103.27, closing as the top performer on the Dow. Chevron (NYSE:CVX) finished just above Verizon (SIX:VZN), which jumped 1.04 or 2.04% to 51.75. Verizon shares popped on Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the telecom giant could bid as much as $3 billion for YHOO's core internet business. The potential acquisition could enhance Verizon's media portfolio even further, roughly one year after the telecom giant's $4.4 billion purchase of AOL.
The worst performer was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.75 or 1.38% to 53.55. Nike (NYSE:NKE)'s decline came as rival UA ticked up nearly 3% to 37.77, amid stellar TV ratings for Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. Steph Curry, Under Armour's top cash cow, is two games away from capturing an NBA championship for the second straight year.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), which soared 11.66 or 5.28% to 232.34. It came after billionaire investor Ron Baron disclosed a $300 million stake in the electric car company. Speaking exclusively to CNBC, Baron said on Tuesday that he expects his investment to net $6 to $7 billion over the next 10-20 years. The worst performer was Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), which plummeted 36.98 or 12.76% to 252.86 after the results of its closely-watched Multiple Sclerosis therapy program lagged behind its placebo counterpart.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV) which soared 13.90 or 12.63% to 123.94 after Reuters reported that the computer networking company has hired GS to field suitors for a potential takeover. Biogen was also the worst performer on the S&P 500, just below Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) which plunged more than 10% to 138.13.
Shares in Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) slumped more than 2% to 94.06 after the popular fashion company outlined a comprehensive restructuring plan. As part of the initiative, Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) will close 10% of its brick-and-mortar stores and cut approximately 8% of its full-time staff.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1,908-1,125 margin.