Stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday as activity in the U.S. services sector jumped to a more than two-year high, displaying underlying strength in the economy as voters headed to the polls.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average of major U.S. companies gained more than 1 percent to close at 42,221 in Tuesday trading. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 1.43 percent, and the S&P 500 index gained 1.23 percent.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that its purchasing managers index (PMI) for the service sector increased for the fourth straight month to a level of 56.0,........