Stocks Rally, Helped By Apple Results

U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, boosted by upbeat earnings from Apple Inc. as well as hopes of further stimulus from the European Central Bank. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 215.14 points, or 1.31%, to 16,614.81. The S&P 500 gained 37.27 points, or 1.96%, to 1,941.28. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 103.40 points, or 2.40%, to 4,419.48.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose 2.3%, after the company reported a 13% rise in profit, aided by strong demand for its new, bigger-screen iPhones. Sales of iPhone 6 and the larger-screen iPhone 6 Plus phones helped the tech giant beat Wall Street estimates.

The ECB is considering buying corporate bonds on the secondary markets, as it attempts to fight deflationary pressures and revitalize the economy.

Yahoo Inc. reported its third-quarter earnings results after the close of trading Tuesday. Yahoo posted a profit of $6.70 a share, on $1.09 billion in sales, minus traffic-acquisition costs. Excluding one- time items, Yahoo earned 52 cents a share.