Stocks end higher on earnings optimism

STORY: U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday, with shares of Apple, Microsoft and Tesla all rising, while oil prices tumbled more than 5%.

All three main indexes sailed higher with the Dow ending about a percent and a half higher. The S&P 500 rose more than a percent and a half and the Nasdaq finished up more than 2%.

Investors took relief from two Federal Reserve officials offering more dovish comments on interest rate hikes for this year.

Scott Wren is senior market strategist at Wells Fargo's Investment Institute assessed stocks' best day in over a month.

“Well, I think today there's more or less a reaction to lower oil prices, lower natural gas prices. We're also seeing the S&P 500 toying with the 50-day moving average for a little bit above that. So, I think right now the market's looking forward trying to figure out what the Fed's going to do, what inflation's going to do, what earnings are going to do, which is not grow a whole lot. But just today, I think most of the market reaction is just due to lower oil prices and lower natural gas prices.”

Megacap companies Amazon and Meta Platforms both gained more than 3% on Tuesday.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson rose 3%, closing at another record high, as its quarterly profit exceeded market expectations.

Energy stocks sank in tandem with oil prices, after the IMF cut its growth forecasts for the global economy.

Gaming companies won big on Tuesday, with Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Penn National Gaming all posting strong gains.

But after the close, Netflix cratered 24% when it reported subscriber numbers had declined for the first time in a decade.