Improved sentiment pushes US stocks higher

On Tuesday, US stocks closed another US session higher as investors monitored the performance of the US dollar and the declining Treasury yields in addition to fresh US macroeconomic data for extracting clues concerning the status of the United States economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 337.12 points higher, or about 1.1%, to end at 31,836.74. The S&P 500 advanced 1.6%, closing at 3,859.11. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.2%, landing at 11,199.12.

Tuesday’s moves have contributed to the sharp rallies seen in the previous two sessions. On Monday, the Dow and S&P 500 gained more than 1% each, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.9%. On Friday, the Dow surged more than 700 points.

Traders pored over a smattering of corporate earnings reports. General Motors and Coca-Cola rose 3.6% and 2.4%, respectively, after reporting stronger-than-forecasted earnings. Xerox plummeted 14% after earnings per share came in at less than half of what was expected.

Companies proved they may be faring better than anticipated. FactSet data shows that, through Tuesday morning, 71% of the companies that reported topped analyst expectations for earnings per share.