By JeeYeon Park, CNBC
Stocks rallied Tuesday, with the S&P 500 extending its recent rally to a fresh high and the Dow surpassing the 15,000 milestone, boosted by better-than-expected economic data from Germany and a gain in Japan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed above 15,000 to hit an all-time intraday high of 15,013.43. Caterpillar and JPMorgan led the blue-chip gainers.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also rallied. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded below 13.
So far this year, the Dow has surged an impressive 14 percent, while the S&P and Nasdaq have soared more than 13 percent each.
Among key S&P sectors, utilities and industrials led the gainers, while techs and financials turned lower.
"The market is still exhibiting good karma from last week's employment report," said Cam Albright, director of asset allocation at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors. "Some of the news that's coming out of Europe has been a bit more positive as well – the German factory orders report was helpful."
In Europe, the financial sector rose after better-than-expected first quarter results from HSBC, Commerzbank and insurer Allianz. Shares of Societe Generale also climbed after the French bank announced a $1.2 billion cost-cutting plan.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the country's benchmark Nikkei index reached its highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, topping 14,000.The rally was largely fueled by the weakening of the yen, which has lost more than 1 percent since Thursday.
"The U.S. economy and markets have led the way and now we're seeing better performance out of Europe and some of the Asian markets this month, so those things are all positive," added Albright. "Valuations are not overly stretched either, so from that perspective, it's not inappropriate to add to positions."
Widely-followed hedge fund manager David Einhorn said he had added to his investment position in Apple. The stock, however, turned negative following the news as investors took the announcement as an opportunity to cash in on the iPhone maker's recent run.
Other major tech giants including Google and Microsoft were also lower.
Among earnings, Discovery Communications posted better-than-expected quarterly results and forecast annual revenue above estimates.
DirecTV rallied after the satellite TV provider blew past Wall Street estimates, helped by better-than-expected growth in Latin America.
OfficeMax posted lower-than-expected earnings, hurt by continued weak sales of technology products and fewer customers. But shares gained after the office supply retailer announced a special dividend of $1.50 a share. The company is awaiting regulatory approval for its pending merger with Office Depot.
Dow component Walt Disney is scheduled to post results after the closing bell. Separately, the conglomerate said it is teaming up with video games publisher Electronic Arts to develop games based on the "Star Wars" movies. EA is also slated to report earnings after the closing bell, in addition to Symantec, WholeFoods and TripAdvisor.
More than 80 percent of S&P 500 companies have posted quarterly results so far, with 68 percent topping earnings expectations and 22 percent missing forecasts, according to Reuters. If all remaining companies post numbers in line with estimates, earnings will be up 5.1 percent on last year.
But on average, sales have come in 1 percent below estimates, with only 45 percent of companies beating their revenue projections.
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve will release its consumer credit report for March at 3 p.m. New York time. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a $15.0 billion gain, after an $18.4 billion increase in February.
And the Treasury is scheduled to auction $32 billion in 3-year notes with the results available shortly after 1pm ET.
Stocks rallied Tuesday, with the S&P 500 extending its recent rally to a fresh high and the Dow surpassing the 15,000 milestone, boosted by better-than-expected economic data from Germany and a gain in Japan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed above 15,000 to hit an all-time intraday high of 15,013.43. Caterpillar and JPMorgan led the blue-chip gainers.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also rallied. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded below 13.
So far this year, the Dow has surged an impressive 14 percent, while the S&P and Nasdaq have soared more than 13 percent each.
Among key S&P sectors, utilities and industrials led the gainers, while techs and financials turned lower.
"The market is still exhibiting good karma from last week's employment report," said Cam Albright, director of asset allocation at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors. "Some of the news that's coming out of Europe has been a bit more positive as well – the German factory orders report was helpful."
In Europe, the financial sector rose after better-than-expected first quarter results from HSBC, Commerzbank and insurer Allianz. Shares of Societe Generale also climbed after the French bank announced a $1.2 billion cost-cutting plan.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the country's benchmark Nikkei index reached its highest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, topping 14,000.The rally was largely fueled by the weakening of the yen, which has lost more than 1 percent since Thursday.
"The U.S. economy and markets have led the way and now we're seeing better performance out of Europe and some of the Asian markets this month, so those things are all positive," added Albright. "Valuations are not overly stretched either, so from that perspective, it's not inappropriate to add to positions."
Widely-followed hedge fund manager David Einhorn said he had added to his investment position in Apple. The stock, however, turned negative following the news as investors took the announcement as an opportunity to cash in on the iPhone maker's recent run.
Other major tech giants including Google and Microsoft were also lower.
Among earnings, Discovery Communications posted better-than-expected quarterly results and forecast annual revenue above estimates.
DirecTV rallied after the satellite TV provider blew past Wall Street estimates, helped by better-than-expected growth in Latin America.
OfficeMax posted lower-than-expected earnings, hurt by continued weak sales of technology products and fewer customers. But shares gained after the office supply retailer announced a special dividend of $1.50 a share. The company is awaiting regulatory approval for its pending merger with Office Depot.
Dow component Walt Disney is scheduled to post results after the closing bell. Separately, the conglomerate said it is teaming up with video games publisher Electronic Arts to develop games based on the "Star Wars" movies. EA is also slated to report earnings after the closing bell, in addition to Symantec, WholeFoods and TripAdvisor.
More than 80 percent of S&P 500 companies have posted quarterly results so far, with 68 percent topping earnings expectations and 22 percent missing forecasts, according to Reuters. If all remaining companies post numbers in line with estimates, earnings will be up 5.1 percent on last year.
But on average, sales have come in 1 percent below estimates, with only 45 percent of companies beating their revenue projections.
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve will release its consumer credit report for March at 3 p.m. New York time. Economists polled by Reuters forecast a $15.0 billion gain, after an $18.4 billion increase in February.
And the Treasury is scheduled to auction $32 billion in 3-year notes with the results available shortly after 1pm ET.