Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Tuesday as technology stocks rallied following a weak start. The S&P 500 rose 70.52 points, or 1.6%, to 4,462.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 499.51 points, or 1.5%, to 34,911.20 in its biggest rise since March 16, MarketWatch reports. The Nasdaq rose 287.30 points, or 2.2%, to 13,619.66. Health care giant Johnson & Johnson rose 3.1% after reporting better-than-expected results and raising its dividend. Energy companies fell along with prices for crude oil and natural gas. Amazon rose 3.5%
Banks gained ground along with rising Treasury yields, which allow them to charge higher interest rates on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.94% from 2.85% late Monday. Bank of America rose 1.8%. Smaller company stocks outpaced the broader market in a sign of confidence about economic growth, the AP reports. The Russell 2000 rose 2%. Energy stocks lagged the broader market. US crude oil prices fell 5.2% and natural gas prices slumped 8.2%.
Wall Street is increasingly focusing on the latest round of corporate report cards as more big companies release their earnings. Signature Bank jumped 8.1% after beating analysts' expectations. Dental products maker Dentsply Sirona slumped 13.4% after firing CEO Don Casey without giving a reason, along with issuing a profit forecast for the current quarter that was far below analysts’ estimates. Railroad giant CSX will report earnings on Wednesday, along with Tesla. American Airlines and Union Pacific will report their results on Thursday.
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