Dow leads Wall Street higher as investors focus on healthcare stocks

Eli Lilly was the S&P 500's biggest index point contributor while UnitedHealth, Merck & Co, Johnson & Johnson and Amgen helped boost the blue-chip Dow industrials. (AFP pic)NEW YORK: The Dow rose 1% on Tuesday, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 while the healthcare sector provided Wall Street's biggest boost and technology was its biggest drag.

Healthcare led gains among the S&P 500's 11 major sector indexes, hitting a record high. Eli Lilly was the S&P 500's biggest index point contributor while UnitedHealth, Merck & Co, Johnson & Johnson and Amgen helped boost the blue-chip Dow industrials.

Declines in megacap stocks pulled down the communication services sector. Energy shares underperformed as oil prices fell after touching a five-month high. Oil traders were weighing a meeting between the Iranian president and Pakistan's army chief, a US-Iran mediator, against Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and reports of vessel attacks in the Gulf.