Stocks Boosted by Factory Orders, Vehicle Sales

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The major U.S. equity indices finished Tuesday's holiday-shortened session with solid gains after data on factory orders in May came in slightly better than expected and June vehicle sales were strong.

Wall Street was also lifted by positive trading action in Europe, where stocks rose ahead of the European Central Bank's latest policy meeting on Thursday. The ECB is widely expected to announce an interest rate cut of 25 basis points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 72 points, or 0.56%, to close at 12,944. Breadth was positive with 23 of the blue-chip index's 30 components on the rise, led by Alcoa (AA), Caterpillar (CAT), and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT).

Home Depot (HD) was the biggest percentage decliner within the Dow, falling more than 2%. Pfizer (PFE) and AT&T (T) were also weak.

The S&P 500 gained nearly 9 points, or 0.62%, to settle at 1374. The Nasdaq Composite tacked on 25 points, or 0.84%, to finish at 2976.

The utilities, basic materials and energy sectors enjoyed the biggest gains. Breadth within the broad market was very positive with advancers ahead of decliners by about 3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq and approximately 4-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange.

U.S. stock exchanges are closed on Wednesday for the Independence Day holiday.

After Monday's disappointing manufacturing data, the Commerce Department said factory orders rose 0.7% in May, better than the consensus estimate for a 0.4% increase and an improvement from April's 0.6% decline in April.

Monthly vehicle sales were robust, sending shares of the auto makers markedly higher and giving bullish investors fuel for the argument that the U.S. consumer is still holding up well. Ford (F) shares rose more than 2% and General Motors (GM) was surging 6% as the market cheered their respective reports.

Mike Boyle, senior vice president at Advisors Asset Management, believes investors havealready priced in some disappointment with regard to Friday's June jobs report. He estimates it would take an increase in nonfarm payrolls of 50,000 or less to prompt a sell-off. The consensus estimate currently sits at around 90,000 after May's weak job creation of 69,000.

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