U.S. stocks drifted higher Tuesday amid a vacuum of market-moving data, nudging Wall Street closer to the edge of what’s called a bull market, an extended period of rising stock prices.

That positivity rang true, too, in our Birmingham and Alabama Stock Report.

At the top of our heap Tuesday was Synovus Financial Corp., which rose 6.9%. Based in Columbus, Ga., it operates 32 branches in 20 different cities and towns in Alabama.

Medical Properties Trust, the Birmingham-based real estate investment trust that focuses on health care facilities, was our second-biggest gainer on the day, rising 5.5% to close just shy of $9 a share.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc., the bank-holding company based in Birmingham, with ServisFirst Bank as its subsidiary, gained 5.4%.

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. rose 3.4%. It has two manufacturing facilities in Alabama – one in Hanceville and one in Thomasville; both make oriented strand board.