U.S. stocks gathered steam in afternoon trading to close with gains as investors digested a basket of positive earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 272 points 0.8%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both rose about 0.8%.
Energy stocks topped the leader board as oil crossed the $88 per barrel level and after ExxonMobil reported profits of $2.05 a share exceeding analyst estimates by 11 cents. Revenue of $89 million also beat estimates. On Monday the oil giant announced it will move its headquarters from Irving Texas to Houston in a cost-cutting move and to streamline the business.
United Parcel Service shares rose nearly 14% after revenue of $27.7 billion topped estimates. The delivery giant also boosted its dividend by 49% to $0.50 cents a share.
Ford ticked up on reports it may soon announce a $20 billion commitment to advance its electric-vehicle push, per Bloomberg.
Movie theater chain AMC gave a preliminary update on its quarter noting total revenues of $1.1 billion improved from the $162.5 million during the same period a year ago. Cash or liquidity reached $1.8 billion, a record for year-end.
In earnings news, Cedar Fair, the amusement park giant, confirmed it has received an unsolicited offer from SeaWorld.
In the afternoon, the focus will turn to big tech when Google parent Alphabet releases its figures. Also watch for numbers from carmaker General Motors, property and casualty insurer Chubb, coffee retailer Starbucks, digital payments pioneer PayPal and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, among others.
Cryptocurrencies stabilized with Bitcoin hovering around the $38,000 level.
