Stocks Rally after Manufacturing Data

U.S. stocks ended sharply higher Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record, after mildly positive manufacturing data and better-than-expected car sales boosted confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74.95 points, or 0.46%, at 16,532.61. The S&P 500 gained 13.18 points, or 0.70%, to 1,885.52. The Nasdaq Composite was up 69.05 points, or 1.64%, at 4,268.04.

U.S. manufacturing companies expanded in March at a slightly faster pace compared to the prior month, a survey of executives found. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 53.7% from 53.2% in February.

The top five automakers in the United States on Tuesday reported higher March sales, beating forecasts and raising expectations April could show an even stronger sales rebound after a long winter. Sales rose 5.7 percent in March to an annualized selling rate of 16.4 million vehicles, well beyond the expectations of 40 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday she wants to find out if key engineering employees at the automaker executed a coverup or were merely incompetent in not recalling cars equipped with a defective part linked to 13 deaths.