U.S. markets pushed higher Tuesday afternoon, with investors seemingly unbothered by disappointing manufacturing data. The Dow Jones climbed more than 100 points, continuing its steady grind upward.

The Dow traded up 0.22% to 48,469.41 while the Nasdaq rose 0.40% to 23,521.69. The S&P 500 also gained ground, adding 0.34% to reach 6,901.90.

Sector Moves

Communication services stocks led the way, rising 0.5% on Tuesday. It's the kind of rotation that makes you wonder what investors are reading into the interest rate picture.

On the flip side, consumer staples dropped 0.5%, marking the session's biggest laggard sector.

Manufacturing Data Disappoints

The headline economic news wasn't particularly cheerful. U.S. durable goods orders declined by 2.2% month-over-month to $307.4 billion in October, compared to a revised 0.7% growth from September. That was worse than the 1.5% decline economists had anticipated, though markets didn't seem too concerned.

Big Movers Higher

Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) shares shot up 9% to $52.30 following FDA approval of its Wegovy pill. Weight loss drugs continue to be the gift that keeps on giving for the Danish pharmaceutical giant.

Shares of Highway Holdings Ltd (HIHO) got a massive boost, surging 107% to $1.72 after the company inked a nonbinding letter of intent with LeMALe Beteiligungs-GmbH to acquire a 51% stake in Germany-based Regent-Feinbau Adermann GmbH.

Trinity Biotech PLC (TRIB) shares also climbed, gaining 56% to $1.39 after the company announced it was awarded an order for 9 million TrinScreen HIV tests.

Notable Decliners

Reviva Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc (RVPH) shares dropped 50% to $0.30. The company announced a regulatory update following a pre-New Drug Application meeting with the FDA regarding brilaroxazine.

Shares of Starfighters Space Inc (FJET) were down 42% to $18.27, retreating after a massive rally Monday where shares skyrocketed over 300% to highs of $31.50. What goes up that fast usually comes down pretty quickly.

Argo Blockchain PLC - ADR (ARBK) was down, falling 13% to $4.00.

Commodities Report

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.1% to $58.09 while gold traded up 0.2% at $4,477.10.

Silver traded up 2.4% to $70.230 on Tuesday, while copper rose 0.9% to $5.5580.

International Markets

European shares were mostly higher. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.39%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.16%. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.29%, Germany's DAX 40 rose 0.22%, and France's CAC 40 dropped 0.18% during the session.

Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.02%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling 0.11%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.07%, and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.05%.

Economic Data Roundup

Beyond the durable goods disappointment, there was actually some good news in the economic data. U.S. GDP grew an annualized 4.3% in the third quarter, the most in two years, accelerating from 3.8% in the prior quarter and beating market estimates of 3.3%.

U.S. industrial production increased 0.1% per month across October and November, showing modest growth in manufacturing activity.

The Federal Reserve's Fifth District manufacturing index surged to -7 in December compared to -15 in November, suggesting conditions may be stabilizing even if they're still in contraction territory.