Banks, Caterpillar and industrial companies boost stocks

Construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar and Post-it note maker 3M led a rally in industrial companies Tuesday afterstrong third-quarter reports. Other U.S. stocks finished the day with smaller gains.

Caterpillar and 3M both raised their forecasts for the rest of the year after they did better than analysts had expected, and their stocks jumped. Combined, the two companies were responsible for almost all of the 167-point gain in the Dow Jones industrial average, which sent the 30-stock index to a record high.

Bond yields and interest rates rose, which helped banks, and technology companies climbed as well. Household goods makers also declined.

UBS analyst Steven Fisher said he thinks Caterpillar, as well as other companies that make construction and mining equipment, are benefiting from gains in metals and oil prices over the last year to year-and-a-half.

“There’s now a catch-up to not only meet the demand but also replenish inventories,” he said. That delayed reaction helped Caterpillar in the third quarter and he said investors have high expectations for other machinery makers.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 4.15 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,569.13. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 167.80 points, or 0.7 percent, to 23,441.76. The Nasdaq composite climbed 11.60 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,598.43.