U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as Wall Street geared up for the heart of corporate earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrials hiked 92.09 points to 31,052.09
The S&P 500 gained 8.59 points to 3,863.95
The NASDAQ added another 45.22 points to Monday's all-time to 13,681.21.
Tuesday brings the corporate earnings of larger companies with more impact on the market indexes. General Electric shares jumped 9% on its better-than-expected industrial free cash flow for the fourth quarter and a rosy outlook for the year. Johnson & Johnson popped more than 3% after the drugmaker's earnings topped expectations.
Tech giant Microsoft will announce its fiscal second-quarter earnings after the bell. Shares of Microsoft climbed more than 1%.
Wild swings resumed in heavily shorted stocks, including GameStop and AMC Entertainment, as enthusiastic retail investors active in chat rooms bet against short-selling hedge funds. The volatility has some investors concerned about stocks becoming detached from fundamentals as speculation runs rampant.
GameStop was up another 20% on Tuesday on no news. AMC gained more than 10%.
Companies started the earnings season with a high beat rate. Of the S&P 500 components that have already reported earnings, 73% have beaten on both sales and earnings, according to data from Bank of America.
On the COVID-19 front, health officials and policymakers continued to caution the public about new strains of the virus. Moderna said Monday that its vaccine does provide some protection against a variant found in South Africa, while officials in Minnesota reported the first U.S. confirmed case of a strain found in Brazil.
Investors are also waiting for a new policy statement from the Federal Reserve as the central bank begins its two-day meeting on Tuesday.
Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen was confirmed as Treasury secretary, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were unchanged, keeping yields at Monday's 1.04%.
Oil prices lost three cents to $52.74 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $1.40 to $1,856.60 U.S. an ounce.