Stocks Ended Higher on Strong Earnings

U.S. stocks ended solidly higher on Tuesday, led by a rally in technology and consumer discretionary stocks, as investors welcomed a round of better-than-expected earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 213.59 points, or 0.87%, to 24,786.63. The S&P 500 gained 28.55 points, or 1.07%, to 2,706.39. The Nasdaq Composite added 124.81 points, or 1.74%, to 7,281.10.

Oil futures saw muted action in Tuesday, finding support from political jitters to tilt higher by the finish, ahead of the weekly data on U.S. petroleum supplies. May West Texas Intermediate crude edged up by 30 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $66.52 a barrel. June Brent ticked up by 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $71.58 a barrel.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) reported a 5 percent rise in first-quarter revenue on Tuesday, benefiting from its shift to cloud computing and security services. Net profit fell to $1.68 billion, or $1.81 per share, in the quarter ended March 31 from $1.75 billion, or $1.85 per share, a year earlier. Total revenue rose to $19.07 billion from $18.16 billion.