A late wave of buying left the stock market higher, led by gains in technology and health care. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 117 points, or 0.7%, to 16,516 Tuesday. It wavered between gains and losses much of the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 15 points, or 0.8%, to 1,938. The Nasdaq composite rose 47 points, or 1%, to 4,685.
Tuesday's gain was the first this year for the Nasdaq composite index, which is heavily weighted with technology companies. Chipmaker Intel rose 2% and Apple gained 1.5%. Among health care companies, UnitedHealth Group jumped 2.5%, the most in the Dow. Energy companies lagged the market as the price of crude oil fell to new 12-year lows. (More Dow Jones stories.)