The stock market continued its rally to close for a gain on Tuesday despite a fall in banking sector shares ahead of testimony from White House advisor Paul Volcker.

The S&P 500 Index rose 14.13 points, or 1.30 percent, to trade at 1,103.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 111.21 points, or 1.09 percent, to trade at 10,296.85.

Manufacturers led the S&P 500 Index today. The top gainers, which all rose more than 8 percent, include Lexmark (NYSE:LXK), Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR), Eastman Kodak (NYSE:EK), Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR), and Cummins (NYSE:CMI).

Excluding charges, Lexmark, a manufacturer of printing devices, reported an earnings per share of $1.16, shattering expectations of $0.62. Similarly, Cummins, a manufacturer of engines, reported an EPS of $1.36, shattering expectations of $0.76.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) gained 3.69 percent. Pharmaceuticals also performed well today; Merck (NYSE:MRK) gained 3.24 percent and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) gained 2.39 percent.

Ford (NYSE:F) reported it sold 116,534 cars and trucks in January, a result that showed 25 percent year-on-year growth. Although Toyota announced today that it completely fixed its faulty gas pedals, January sales had declined 16 percent because of the recalls.

Ford (NYSE:F) closed up 2.43 percent and Toyota (NYSE:TM) closed down 2.20 percent.

Wall Street firms continued to surge while regional banks pared gains as Volcker spoke in front of the Senate Banking Committee today. The hearing was scheduled from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

Volcker stated that his proposal to limit proprietary trading for banks should be understood as a part of the broader effort for structural reform.

Shares of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) began to cut their gains around 1:45 pm, but rallied in the last hour to end higher. The firms each gained at least 1.80 percent.

A pair of the largest U.S. regional banks plunged today. PNC (NYSE:PNC), which was flat at 1:46 pm, lost 2.27 percent. SunTrust (NYSE:STI), a regional bank, was up about 0.6 percent at 1:46 pm. It closed down 0.94 percent.

Follow us on Twitter @IBTFinance

Investment Toyota New york city Goldman sachs