NEW YORK: A better-than-expected read on US manufacturing in April and encouraging construction data drove Wall Street shares higher on Tuesday as traders shrugged off some poor earnings reports.

Profit-taking took root in the final hour but even so, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its best daily finish since the final days of 2007.

The blue-chip index closed up 65.69 points, or 0.50 percent, at 13,279.32.

The broad-based SandP 500 index gained 7.91 points (0.57 percent) to 1,405.82, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 4.08 points (0.13 percent) to 3,050.44.

The market got its charge from the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index, which registered a solid jump for April, rising to 54.8 percent from 53.4 percent in March. Analysts had expected a fall.

In addition, a reading on construction spending in March also held positive signs - it showed strength in private-sector building even though the overall data was being held back by government spending cutbacks.

"It's a relief to see some better US economic data, particularly after the spate of negative news lately," said Jennifer Lee at BMO Capital Markets.

Herbalife, which sells nutritional and fitness supplements and cosmetics, led turnover on the New York Stock Exchange, its shares plunging 19.39 percent after powerful hedge-fund operator David Einhorn raised questions about its financial reporting in an earnings conference call.

Avon shares fell 8.0 percent and Pfizer was 0.5 percent lower after their disappointing first-quarter earnings results.

Ford and General Motors both reported significant falls in US sales in April, but Ford's shares dropped 0.4 percent while GM added 1.3 percent. GM said its 8.2 percent fall in sales was due to a decline in volume in its low-margin fleet sales unit.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation added 0.9 percent despite a scathing report from a British parliamentary committee that said the media tycoon is not fit to run a major company.

Chesapeake Energy surged 6.3 percent after embattled chief executive Aubrey McClendon said he would resign his concurrent position as chairman and give up a special compensation deal that had garnered much criticism. -- AFP