Tuesday, the Dow climbed 165.65 points (0.96%) to 17,417.27, the NASDAQ closed 32.19 points (0.65%) higher at 5,001.11, and the S&P 500 increased 17.75 points (0.88%) to 2,038.90. The Russell 2000 was up 9.94 points (0.88%) at 1,137.68, and the Wilshire 5000 gained 178.55 points (0.86%) to finish at 20,925.01.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares traded, with a more than 3 to 1 lead for advancers. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares changed hands, with 1.7 advancing issues for every declining issue.

ON THIS DATE: In 1788, Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area for the seat of the national government. About two-thirds of the area became the District of Columbia. In 1823, the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement C. Moore (” ‘Twas the night before Christmas…”) was published. In 1856, Ralph Collier was issued a U.S. patent for the first rotary egg-beater with rotating parts. In 1893, the Engelbert Humperdinck opera “Hansel und Gretel” was first performed, in Weimar, Germany. In 1913, the Federal Reserve Bill was signed into law by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. The act established 12 Federal Reserve Banks. In 1922, the British Broadcasting Corporation began daily news broadcasts. In 1942, Bob Hope agreed to entertain U.S. airmen in Alaska. It was the first of his traditional Christmas shows. In 1951, a National Football League (NFL) championship game was televised nationally for the first time. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cleveland Browns 24-17. In 1954, the Walt Disney movie “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was released. In 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first nonstop, around-the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1997, Terry Nichols was convicted by a Denver jury on charges of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in the 1995 federal building bombing in Oklahoma City.