U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday, helped by solid gains in oil prices, as investors awaited the first batch of earnings from the first quarter of the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 164.84 points, or 0.94 percent, to 17,721.25. The S&P 500 jumped 19.73 points, or 0.97 percent, to 2,061.72.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 38.69 points, or 0.80 percent, to 4,872.09. Oil prices surged for a third straight session Tuesday, with both U.S. oil and Brent crude soaring over 4 percent, as media reports showed that top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to freeze output ahead of a much-anticipated producers meeting Sunday.
Lifted by the spiking oil prices, the energy sector jumped 2.84 percent as the biggest advancer among the S&P 500's ten sectors.
Traders were also watching closely big banks earnings this week, starting with JPMorgan Chase & Co Wednesday. Analysts believe quarterly profit growth would be low amid the sluggish world economy, a strong dollar and declining commodity prices.
According to Thomson Reuters, the blended earnings of the S&P 500 companies in the first quarter of 2016 are expected to decline 7.8 percent year on year, while the revenue is forecast to decrease 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for global growth in 2016 to 3.2 percent, saying that the global economy grows at a sluggish pace that leaves the world economy more exposed to risks. The world economy is projected to grow 3.2 percent this year and 3.5 percent next year, a downward revision of 0.2 percentage point and 0.1 percentage point, respectively, compared with the IMF's forecasts in January, according to the IMF's flagship report World Economic Outlook released Tuesday.
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