Dow Jones Average Hits Highest Mark Since "07 NEW YORK - The fastest growth in U.S. manufacturing in 10 months gave stocks a lift Tuesday and pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest close in more than four years. Manufacturing expanded last month at the strongest pace since June, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The manufacturing news jolted stock indexes out of a morning stupor, although the gains waned throughout the afternoon. The Dow added 65.69 points to 13,279.32, its highest closing mark since Dec. 28, 2007, during the first month of the Great Recession. "It definitely changed the direction of markets," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. Treasury prices fell, and benchmark crude oil rose $1.29 to settle at $106.16 per barrel. Both of those things tend to happen when investors expect stronger economic growth. Ablin saw an irony in the reaction to the ISM report. Europe's debt crisis has knocked markets around for months, jerking stocks down on worries its troubles could cross the Atlantic. But Europe's woes have made U.S. manufacturers look more attractive to companies, Ablin said. "It's gotten to a point over last 10 years where it's better to manufacture here than in pretty much any other developed country in the world," he said. In a separate report Tuesday, the Commerce Department said construction spending ticked up in March, following two months of declines. Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, said the two reports looked like evidence that the U.S. economic recovery is solid despite turmoil in Europe and weaker job creation in March. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose eight points to 1,406. The Nasdaq composite climbed four points to 3,050. All 10 industry groups within the S&P 500 climbed, led by energy companies. Chesapeake Energy Corp. jumped 6 percent on reports that the company will strip CEO Aubrey McClendon of his chairman's title. Since World War II, the S&P 500 has gained an average of 0.31 percent in May. Sears Holdings Corp. soared 15 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Archer Daniels Midland Co. gained 7 percent after the food conglomerate reported profits that beat analysts" expectations. Avon Products Inc. fell 8 percent, the largest drop in the S&P. The company said earnings plunged 82 percent, hurt by a bigger restructuring charge, commodity costs and rising labor costs. Reported by Matthew Craft