Investing.com -- U.S. stocks surged on Tuesday rallying from a late sell-off in the final hour of the previous session, ahead of the release of a host of quarterly earnings from prominent companies including Apple Inc (O:AAPL).
The rebound was triggered in part by a rally in oil prices after U.S. crude future briefly slipped below $30 a barrel in overnight trading. Shortly after the open of U.S. markets, however, crude jumped as much as 6% following market-moving comments from Kuwait's OPEC governor on the increasing possibility that the cartel could cooperate with non-OPEC producers to help cut global production. Both the U.S. and international benchmarks of crude closed above $31 a barrel on Tuesday.
Sharp losses in oil prices in recent weeks have weighed on U.S. equities, as crude hovers near its lowest level since 2003. At one point last week, the S&P 500 Composite index traded at a 96% correlation with the daily fluctuations in oil.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 282.01 or 1.78% to 16,167.23, while the NASDAQ Composite index jumped 49.18 or 1.09% to 4,567.67 on a bullish day for stocks. At session highs, the Dow gained as much as 300 points. The S&P 500, meanwhile, rose 26.55 or 1.41% to close at 1,903.63, as all 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Energy, Telecommunications and Basic Materials industries led, each gaining more than 1.95% on the session.
Shares in Apple (O:AAPL) were relatively flat in Tuesday's regular session, as investors awaited the release of perhaps the most closely watched earnings release in the tech giant's recent history. Investors braced for weak results from the world's largest company in the first quarter of 2016, amid expectations for disappointing iPhone sales. Investors will also keep a close eye on the company's forecasts for iPhone shipments in the second quarter while gauging its short-term potential. Some analysts expect iPhone shipments to dip below 55 million for the three-month period, representing a decline of approximately 10% on a year-over-year basis.
The top performer on the Dow was 3M Company (N:MMM), which added 7.06 or 5.13% to 144.63 after the Minneapolis-based multinational conglomerate topped analysts' expectations with its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday. For the quarter, 3M reported earnings per share, excluding restructuring charges of 1.80, slightly above analysts' forecasts of 1.63. It came after the company cut approximately 1,500 positions to save roughly $130 million on a pre-tax basis. The worst performer was Coca-Cola Company (N:KO), which fell 0.14 or 0.33% to 42.02. Coca-Cola was the only component on the Dow to close in the red.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Western Digital Corporation (O:WDC), which added 2.83 or 6.66% to 45.30, amid speculation the California-based computer data storage company could back out of a $19 billion merger with flash storage vendor SanDisk Corporation (O:SNDK) reached in October. Shares in SanDisk gained nearly 4% to 64.09. The worst performer was Incyte Corporation (O:INCY), which lost 2.55 or 3.26% to 75.76.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Williams Companies Inc (N:WMB), which gained 2.15 or 11.74% to 20.46. Williams finished just ahead of Coach Inc (N:COH), which soared 2.99 or 9.85% to 33.34 after the luxury retailer beat quarterly earnings forecasts due in large part to a strong period from its brick and mortar shops in North America. The worst performer was Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (O:HBAN), which fell 0.75 or 8.52% to 8.05, after the Columbus, Ohio-based bank holding company announced it acquired FirstMerit Bank for $3.4 billion.
Besides Apple, both AT&T Inc (N:T) and United States Steel Corporation (N:X) were scheduled to release quarterly earnings after the close of trading.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,576-510 margin.