US stocks rose on Tuesday as a host of solid earnings reports, along with strength in the healthcare sector, helped lift the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their sixth...

US stocks rose on Tuesday as a host of solid earnings reports, along with strength in the healthcare sector, helped lift the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their sixth straight advance. A deal between Novartis (NOVN.VX) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), in which the two traded over $20 billion worth of assets in an effort to cope with healthcare spending cuts and generic competition, also bolstered the healthcare sector. Better-than-expected earnings have lifted stocks recently, though companies have largely been exceeding reduced forecasts. Mike Serio, of Wells Fargo Private Bank in Denver said; We've had some really good beats at this point, we've had a couple of good announcements today, you throw on the M&A activity in the drug sector, at least in the short term, everybody looks pretty excited about this market. Full Report from Reuters here (VIEW LINK)