国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks rally for 2nd day, Dow regains 12,000

NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rallied for the second day on Tuesday as better-than-expected corporate earnings and strong manufacturing data added to optimism about a stronger recovery.

The gains were across the board on Tuesday, with all 10 big-cap sectors in Standard & Poor's 500 finishing higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 12,000 with a three-digit gain while the S&P 500 hurdled 1,300-point mark for the first time in more than two and a half years.

Pfizer led the gains in the 30 stocks that make up the Dow. Its shares soared nearly 5.5 percent after the drug giant said its fourth-quarter profit more than tripled from a year earlier, beating Wall Street estimates.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, February 1, 2011.

Auto makers also rose as January sales showed improvement. General Motors said it sold 178,896 vehicles in January, up 21.8 percent from one year earlier. For GM's so-called core brands - Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC - U.S. sales rose 23.3 percent in January.

On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday that its index of manufacturing activity rose last month to 60.8, the highest level since May. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

However, according to the Commerce Department, construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in December to the lowest level in a decade, suggesting the industry will continue to lag behind the economic recovery.

In other markets, crude oil price slipped on Tuesday, after two days of big gains, as concerns over the unrest in Egypt eased.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 1.42 dollars to 90. 77 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 148.23 points, or 1.25 percent, to 12,040.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 21. 47 points, or 1.67 percent, to 1,307.59 and the Nasdaq was up 51. 11 points, or 1.89 percent, to 2,751.19.