US stocks rose on Tuesday, supported by the healthcare sector, despite weaker-than-expected private employment data (ADP) and uncertainty over the government shutdown.
The healthcare sector surged on Tuesday after Pfizer announced a deal with the US government.
President Donald Trump announced that the pharmaceutical company had agreed to lower the price of prescription drugs in the Medicaid program, compared to charges in other developed countries in exchange for tariff relief.
In addition, Trump also expected more pharmaceutical companies to follow suit.
Among the biggest gains in the healthcare sector, Biogen shares rose 10.9%, while Thermo Fisher rose 9.4%.
The Dow Jones index rose 0.09% to 46,441.10 points, the S&P 500 jumped 0.34% to 6,711.20 points, while the technology-focused Nasdaq rose 0.42% to 22,755.16 points.
In other news, with the official NFP jobs report likely to be delayed if the government does not reopen on Friday, investors are now focusing on the ADP National Employment Report.
The ADP report showed a decline of 32,000 private sector jobs in September, while the revised August figure fell by 3,000.
The reading was well below economists' forecast of a gain of 50,000 jobs and the preliminary August report of 54,000.
Meanwhile, Corteva shares fell 9% after the company announced plans to separate its seeds and pesticides businesses into a separate publicly traded company.
Volume on the US exchange was $19.79 billion, compared to an average of $18.62 billion over the past 20 trading days.
