Wall Street gains ground on healthcare stocks rally, oil retreat

US equities were higher on Tuesday, October 20, as healthcare shares climbed and crude prices eased, Business Recorder reported. By 12:06 p.m. ET, the Dow had added 0.97% to 52,468.06, the S&P 500 was up 0.42% at 7,723.06 and the Nasdaq had gained 0.22% to 26,489.60. Healthcare reached a record level, with Eli Lilly rising 4.7%, while the financial index advanced 1.2%.

Brent fell 1.1% after briefly reaching a five-month peak, while energy shares led sector declines. The market’s advance extended Monday’s bounce after last week’s technology-led setback; AI-related shares were flat to higher, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor index rose 0.7%. Investors were also following scheduled company results, with Netflix and SpaceX due to report after Tuesday’s close and Meta and Tesla on Wednesday. General Motors fell 6.9% after citing expected pressure from higher materials costs and weaker truck sales.