Stocks close higher: Dow gains 1.1% as health care leads and oil swings $9 in a day

U.S. stocks ended Tuesday higher, with small caps and the Dow doing most of the work. On the Chronicle markets board at 4:36 p.m. ET, the S&P 500 was at 7,731.1, up 0.44%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 52,599.1, up 1.14% or 593 points, the Nasdaq-100 at 29,589.1, up 0.14%, and the Russell 2000 at 2,778.7, up 1.72%. Official settlements can differ slightly from these board levels.

Reuters and Investing.com both described the session as a rotation into health care and value stocks, with solid earnings helping. The lagging Nasdaq-100 fits that picture: the leadership was not the chip and AI names that dominated the last few weeks.

Yields ease from Monday's high

The Treasury's official closes for Tuesday were 5.12% on the 10-year, down from 5.15% on Monday, 4.79% on the 2-year (4.77% Monday) and 5.42% on the 30-year (5.48% Monday). Short yields rose slightly while long ones fell, a small flattening. The Fed meets October 28, and the board's economic calendar shows a forecast for the funds target at 3.875%. See where officials stand.

Oil: an expiring contract, a $9 range

CNBC reported that November WTI fell 1.8% to settle at $101.79 a barrel after touching $110.48 during the session. That contract expired Tuesday, so the active contract is December, which was down 26 cents at $98.28. Brent for December settled at $108.79, down 0.7%. Traders were weighing hopes of U.S.-Iran diplomacy against continued attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz; CNBC cited Kpler as counting at least 18 vessels fired on in two weeks. Gold on our board was near $4,122 an ounce, down about 0.4%, and the dollar was 158.19 yen.

Earnings after the bell

United Airlines cut its outlook, CNBC reported: it expects fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 50 cents to $1.50 a share against the $1.76 analysts expected, and a fuel price of $4.80 a gallon, up from $3.90 in the third quarter. Its third-quarter revenue rose 17.4% to $17.88 billion while its fuel bill rose about 62% to $4.84 billion. Netflix beat on earnings at 87 cents a share with in-line revenue, trimmed its 2026 revenue forecast to $51.1 billion, and fell about 4% in extended trading, CNBC said. Earlier in the day, GM, GE Aerospace and Northrop Grumman reported; we covered GM, GE Aerospace and Northrop separately.

What to watch Wednesday

Housing data were soft Tuesday: see our look at housing starts. Thursday brings jobless claims, forecast at 200,000, and Friday the flash S&P Global composite PMI (previous 58.4). Netflix and United will set the tone for the open.

Sources: Chronicle markets board (index levels read 4:36 p.m. ET, may be delayed), U.S. Treasury, CNBC, Reuters, Investing.com. This is market information, not investment advice.