The Associated Press

The U.S. stock market marched higher Tuesday, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 index its best day of the year. Investors rallied behind an encouraging report on the Chinese economy as well as strong quarterly results from Apple and other big companies.

On Tuesday:

The Dow rose 215.14 points, or 1.3 percent, to 16,614.81.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 37.27 points, or 2 percent, to 1,941.28.

The Nasdaq composite gained 103.40 points, or 2.4 percent, to 4,419.48.

For the week:

The Dow is up 234.40 points, or 1.4 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 54.52, or 2.9 percent.

The Nasdaq has added 161.04 points, or 3.8 percent.

For the year:

The Dow is up 234.40 points, or 0.2 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 92.92 points, or 5 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 242.89 points, or 5.8 percent.

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