U.S. stocks climb on central bank easing talk; Dow Jones up 0.65%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. service sector data later in the day, while expectations for fresh easing measures by a number of world central banks supported market sentiment.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.65%, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.72%, while the Nasdaq Composite index jumped 0.97%.

Investors remained cautious amid concerns that Italy will be unable to pass structural reforms and austerity measures as the country edged closer to fresh elections after inconclusive elections last week.

Concerns over the outlook for Italy, the euro zone’s third largest economy, fuelled speculation over a possible rate cut by the European Central Bank in the coming months.

Stocks were also boosted by expectations for more aggressive easing measures by the Bank of Japan.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing climber 0.44% after Japan's aviation regulators said on Tuesday there are still "several steps" required before any battery fix for the U.S. company's troubled Dreamliner jet can be approved.

Boeing said this week it was ready to make fixes to its batteries if regulators approve the proposed solution.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice was reportedly seeking additional details of AMR Corp and US Airways Group's proposed USD11 billion merger, which aims to create the world's largest airline. Shares in US Airways inched up 0.07% at the open of the U.S. trading session.

Among energy-limled stocks, oil and gas major BP, which lost its first deal to drill for oil in Russia's Arctic to ExxonMobil, advanced 0.72% even as it was again beaten to the punch by its U.S. rival in negotiations for a new deal with Russian state oil company Rosneft.

ExxonMobil was up 0.38% following the news.

Adding to gains, General Motors jumped 1% after saying that it and its China joint ventures sold 215,070 vehicles in the country in February, down 10.6% from a year earlier.

Financial stocks were also broadly higher, as shares in JP Morgan climbed 1.14% and Goldman Sachs rallied 1.28%, while Citigroup and Bank of America surged 1.65% and 1.84% respectively.

On the downside, Impax Laboratories plunged 23.15% after saying that U.S. health regulators raised fresh concerns related to manufacturing practices at the drugmaker's Hayward, California facility.

JCPenney also trended lower, tumbling 5.38%, amid news Vornado Realty Trust is selling 10 million JCPenney shares via Deutsche Bank.

Other stocks in focus included VeriFone, due to report fourth quarter earnings after the closing bell.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.83%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.58%, Germany's DAX surged 1.97%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 1.10%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.27%.

Later in the day, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management was to release a report on service sector activity.