Tuesday saw the Standard & Poor’s 500 index higher for the sixth consecutive session as stocks posted a second straight day of substantial gains.

With little economic data coming this week, markets seemed to take heart in the early-morning news that the Syrian regime had accepted a Russian-sponsored offer to turn its chemical weapons stockpiles over to the stewardship of the international community, in an effort to derail US-led strikes. The move unexpectedly threw the ball back into the Obama administration’s court, and will delay the prospect of military action for at least the time being.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.85 percent to finish the day off at 15,191.06. Prior to the regular trading session, it was announced that Goldman Sachs (GS) , Nike (NKE) , and Visa (V) would be joining the index, respectively taking the places until now held by Bank Of America (BAC) , Alcoa Inc. ($AA), and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) .

Microsoft (MSFT) led the index higher, advancing over 2 percent on news that the company’s investors are pushing for a turnaround specialist to replace outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer. General Electric (GE) and Walt Disney Co. (DIS) also ended the day on gains of at least 2 percent. Alcoa and Hewlett-Packard were the index’s worst performers, for obvious reasons, but neither saw shares drop significantly.

The S&P 500 ended the day on a 0.73 percent jump to a tally of 1,683.99 points. Tech shares helped lift the index, with Cisco Systems (CSCO) jumping 1 percent after announcing its $415 million upcoming purchase of the storage device startup WhipTail. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Micron Technology (MU) also gained substantially, lifting the semiconductor industry.

The NASDAQ gained 0.62 percent to 3,729.02 by the closing bell, with much help from tech shares as well. However, Netflix (NFLX) was the story of the day, as the company rose more than 6 percent to an all-time high of $313 by the end of trading.