Feb. 8 (UPI) — U.S. markets rallied on Tuesday to reverse a slow start to the week amid a positive batch of corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 371.65 points, or 1.06%, while the S&P 500 increased 0.84% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.28%.
Earnings reports swayed the market higher on Tuesday with shares of Harley-Davidson rising 15.53% after reporting better-than-expected profits in the fourth quarter while Chegg and Amgen rose 15.99% and 7.82% respectively after their earnings reports.
Conversely Pfizer stock declined 2.84% after the drugmaker reported fourth-quarter revenue and full-year earnings guidance that fell short of analysts’ predictions.
About 300 S&P 500 components have reported earnings data with 77% exceeding revenue expectations, according to Factset.
Tuesday’s gains came after markets fell slightly on Tuesday, as mixed results from major tech names and concerns that the Federal Reserve could tighten its monetary policy have limited market growth in the start of 2022.
“The first few weeks of this year were driven much more by macro concerns — higher interest rates, pricing the Fed, inflation,” Stuart Kaiser, UBS head of equity derivatives research, told Yahoo Finance of the slow start. “Since then, we’ve had a window of opportunity where earnings took over.”
The 10-year treasury yield rose again Tuesday to 1.96% its highest level since November 2019.
Investors are expected to closely follow the release of the Consumer Price Index Thursday, which is expected to indicate another record high in inflation that could lead the Fed to lean into its more hawkish stance.
