Stock Ended Sharply Higher, Google and Amazon Results Topped Expectation

U.S. stocks finished sharply higher on Tuesday, with investors encouraged by news on the pace of vaccines in the U.S and digested quarterly results from Amazon.com and Google parent Alphabet Inc. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 475.57 points, or 1.57%, to 30,687.48. The S&P 500 gained 52.45 points, or 1.39%, to 3,826.31. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 209.38 points, or 1.56%, to 13,612.78.

Oil futures rose Tuesday, with expectations that efforts by major oil producers to reduce production will lead to tighter global supplies lifting U.S. prices to their highest settlement in more than a year. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery rose $1.21, or 2.3%, to settle at $54.76 a barrel. April Brent crude added $1.11, or 2%, at $57.46 a barrel.

Google parent company Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) reported its Q4 2020 earnings after the closing bell on Tuesday, beating analysts’ expectations thanks to improved spending by advertisers and continued growth in its cloud business. It reported net income of $15.23 billion, or $22.30 a share, compared with net income of $10.67 billion, or $15.35 a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) reported another round of record-setting quarterly results on Tuesday, as consumers still under stay-in-place restrictions turned in droves to the e-commerce platform, especially over the holiday shopping season. It reported fourth-quarter revenue of $125.6 billion, earnings of $7.2 billion, or $14.09 a share, up from $6.47 a share in the holiday period a year before.