Investing.com - U.S. stocks surged on Tuesday after a flurry of upbeat third-quarter earnings sparked a Wall Street rally.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 rose 1.31%, the S&P 500 index rose 1.96%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 2.40%.
The S&P 500 VIX index, which measures the outlook for market volatility, was down 0.29% at 16.93.
Wall Street applauded earnings from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN), Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) on Tuesday, which sent broader stock indices climbing.
Apple reported $42.1 billion in revenue and $8.5 billion in profit, which drew applause as did news that iPhone sales topped 39 million units in the quarter.
Disappointing earnings from soft drinks giant Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and the Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) restaurant chain failed to dampen spirits, as upbeat U.S. data added to the buying spree.
The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that existing home sales increased 2.4% to 5.17 million units in September from 5.05 million in August.
Analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 1% to 5.10 million units in September, and the better-than-expected figure boosted stock prices.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), up 3.25%, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), up 3.19%, and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), up 2.68%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (NYSE:CCE), down 6.04%, International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), down 3.47%, and McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD), down 0.69%.
European indices, meanwhile, ended the day higher.
After the close of European trade, the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 2.19%, France's CAC 40 rose 2.25%, while Germany's DAX 30 rose 1.94%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 1.68%.
On Wednesday, the U.S. is to produce data on consumer prices.