UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc

By Riva Gold and Akane Otani 

U.S. stocks climbed Tuesday, resuming their postelection rally, as gains in health-care stocks helped offset losses in the energy sector.

Stocks posted rare declines Monday amid weeks of gains, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization companies all falling after closing at records on Friday.

A surge in health-care stocks helped indexes rise again Tuesday, putting the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 back near their highs.

The S&P 500 health-care sector added 0.9%, with Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Centene Corporation and UnitedHealth Group leading gains. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 0.5%.

Limiting overall gains, energy shares in the S&P 500 fell 1.4% as U.S. crude oil lost 4.1% to $45.12 a barrel.

Oil prices have been volatile in recent weeks, as investors and analysts have sought clues as to whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will be able to hammer out a deal Wednesday to cut output. Prices have climbed as high as $48 a barrel as investors grew optimistic about an OPEC deal and retreated to closer to $43 a barrel when those hopes have wavered.

Oil ministers from Indonesia and Iran expressed some reluctance to commit to a production cut Tuesday.

"Oil prices are moving on [ministers'] comments now more than anything else until a decision comes out," said Brian Youngberg, an energy analyst at Edward Jones. "We still think oil prices will gradually recover in the next year or two, whether OPEC does anything or not, but an OPEC agreement would push it forward," he said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 34 points, or 0.2%, to 19133. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%.

Government bonds, which have come under pressure since the U.S. presidential election as expectations of inflation and interest-rate increases have risen, strengthened after selling off earlier in the session. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was recently at 2.312%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 2.319% on Monday. Yields move inversely to prices.

Yields had hit session highs in the morning after the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product in the third quarter expanded 3.2% -- its fastest pace in two years. Investors widely expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month, and upbeat data bolsters that case.

Expectations that President-elect Donald Trump's potential policies would boost economic growth have also added to investor optimism.

"For now, markets are running on hope and promise," said Graham McDevitt, portfolio manager at Macquarie Investment Management.

"The dollar and interest rates move in tandem with each other on expectations that in six months' time and beyond, U.S. growth will be stronger, and that will deliver a better environment for the U.S. economy and probably higher U.S. interest rates."

Longer term, however, Mr. Trump has also mentioned trade restrictions and changes to immigration in his platform, which could crimp growth in the future, and it remains to be seen which policies will actually be implemented, Mr. McDevitt added.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% and Asian markets mostly retreated. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3%, led lower by financials and electronics, while the Shanghai Composite eked out a slight gain to reach its highest closing value since January.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com and Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 29, 2016 14:19 ET (19:19 GMT)

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