Stocks closed sharply higher on Tuesday as the corporate earnings season got off to a strong start.
The Dow Jones Industrials vaulted 237.44 points to close Tuesday at 27,024.80, its first close above 27,000 since Sept. 19.
The S&P 500 improved 29.53 points, or 1%, to 2,995.68. The S&P 500 was about 1% away from reaching an all-time high.
The NASDAQ Composite heightened 100.06 points, or 1.2%, to 8,148.71
J.P. Morgan Chase shares jumped 3% after its third-quarter numbers topped analyst expectations. The company's revenue also hit a record, boosted by home and auto loans along with credit cards.
UnitedHealth, another Dow member, posted a quarterly profit that topped analyst expectations by 13 cents per share. The company's results got a boost from growing pharmacy benefits. UnitedHealth also hiked its full-year earnings guidance. UnitedHealth shares climbed 8.2% to notch its biggest one-day gain in over a decade.
Johnson & Johnson, meanwhile, saw its third-quarter numbers lifted by higher sales of cancer and other prescription drugs. The numbers sent the stock up by 1.6%.
Expectations for the corporate earnings season overall were downbeat entering Tuesday. Analysts expect S&P 500 earnings to fall by 4.6% on a year-over-year basis.
United Airlines is among the companies set to report after the bell Tuesday. Netflix, IBM and Bank of America are all scheduled to report Wednesday.
Wall Street also got a boost from stronger-than-forecast economic data. New York's Empire State manufacturing index hit 4 for October, up from a print of 2 in September. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a reading of 0.8.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 1.77% from Friday's 1.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 66 cents to $52.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $12.60 to $1,485.00 U.S. an ounce.