New York, May 27 (IANS): US stocks finished noticeably higher on Tuesday, following solid gains in the previous week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 529.95 points, or 2.17 per cent, to 24,995.11. The S&P 500 was up 36.32 points, or 1.23 per cent, to 2,991.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 15.63 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 9,340.22, Xinhua reported.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors climbed, with financials and industrials up 5.04 per cent and 4.24 per cent, respectively, outpacing the rest. Health care and technology, however, struggled.

US biotech company Novavax said on Monday it has entered clinical trials for a potential coronavirus vaccine. The company said it expects initial results on safety and immune responses in July. The stock closed up 4.47 per cent on Tuesday.

Investors paid close attention to economy reopening as more US states started to relax coronavirus-tied lockdown restrictions.

The market rally came after a solid week for Wall Street that saw all the three major indexes rise more than 3 per cent. US markets were closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

On the data front, US consumer confidence index stood at 86.6 this month, up from 85.7 in April, New York-based The Conference Board reported on Tuesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a reading of 86.8 in May.