Stocks higher on strong economic reports

U.S. stocks rose by the most in nearly two weeks Tuesday after data showed business investment and the housing recovery continued apace, reassuring investors worried about the Federal Reserve's plans to reduce its massive monetary stimulus.

Analysts said the gains were fueled by a mix of buyers: hedge funds and both small and wealthy retail clients attracted by the market's recent drop.

"I think investors have kind of come to the conclusion that 'OK, we've made a knee-jerk reaction to what the Fed has said and now we've taken some deep breaths and we can reassess,' " said Mike Binger, senior portfolio manager at Gradient Investments LLC in Minneapolis.

The S&P 500's gain of just under 1 percent was the biggest since June 13 and was the market's most broad-based advance since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked a global rout in financial markets by laying out a roadmap for the end of $85 billion a month in bond purchases.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 100.75 points to close at 14,760.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 0.95 percent, closing at 1,588.03. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.82 percent to close at 3,347.89.