YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Strength among natural resource plays helped the stock market put together a low-volume advance that concluded at session highs with all 10 major sectors in positive ground.

Materials stocks spiked 3.7% as participants pushed back into precious metals and metals stocks. After recording sizable losses in recent weeks, gold prices closed pit trade 1.9% higher at $1105 per ounce, while silver prices settled 2.9% higher at $16.66 per ounce. That helped Freeport McMoRan (FCX 71.59, +4.90) to put together its best single-session percentage advance in approximately six months. The stock was also helped by the notion that it had been oversold after it fell in seven of the eight previous sessions, which cost the stock one-fifth of its market cap.

Diversified metals and miners settled the session with a 7.3% gain, while gold stocks gained 6.3%, and steel stocks were sent 5.3% higher.

All 39 components in the S&P 500 energy sector finished the session in higher ground to give the sector a 3.0% gain. Integrated energy giant Exxon Mobil (XOM 66.18, +1.75) was a primary leader in the group, due to its better-than-expected earnings and a 2.1% rise in crude oil prices, which settled the session at $74.13 per barrel.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index put together a 3.1% gain after it had dropped 6.3% during the course of the two previous sessions. Support for the space was helped by news from the Semiconductor Industry Association that global chip sales in December surged 29% year-over-year.

Health care stocks finished with a solid 0.5% gain, but they struggled to keep up with the broader market this session. That was largely due to relative weakness in managed care names in the wake of in-line earnings and a tepid 2010 forecast from Humana (HUM 48.71, +0.09).

This morning's economic data was generally mixed. The ISM Manufacturing Index for January hit a five-year high of 58.4, which topped the consensus call of 55.5, but enthusiasm for the report was tempered by news that construction spending during December made a month-over-month 1.2% decline, which is worse than the 0.5% decline that many had forecast.

Personal income during December climbed 0.4%, which is a slightly sharper increase than the 0.3% increase that had been expected. Spending during December increased 0.2%, which was softer than the 0.3% increase that was widely forecast. Core personal consumption expenditures increased a tepid 0.1% month-over-month, but that was in-line with the consensus.

Advancing Sectors: Materials (+3.7%), Energy (+3.0%), Financials (+1.6%), Tech (+1.5%), Industrials (+1.5%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.1%), Consumer Staples (+0.8%), Utilities (+0.7%), Health Care (+0.5%), Telecom (+0.4%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +118.20 NASDAQ +23.85 NQ100 +1.1% R2K +1.2% SP400 +1.5% SP500 +15.32 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1709/2.22 bln/972 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2411/1.04 bln/642