U.S. stocks traded higher on Tuesday, amid expectations of further stimulus measures from Beijing after data showed China's slowest economic expansion since 1990, and strong bank earnings reports.
By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 98.82 points, or 0.62 percent, to 16, 086.90. The S&P 500 gained 10.56 points, or 0. 56 percent, to 1,890.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 15.90 points, or 0.35 percent, to 4,504.31.
China's economy grew 6.9 percent year on year in 2015, in line with the official target of around 7 percent for the year, according to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Tuesday.
It is China's slowest economic growth in 25 years. Global equities posted solid gains after China's data, as many investors expected Beijing may do more to stimulus its economy.
Chinese shares surged on Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite soaring over 3 percent and climbing back to the 3,000-point mark. In corporate news, both Bank of America and Morgan Stanley posted strong earnings report before the opening bell on Tuesday.
Bank of America announced its net income of 3.3 billion U.S. dollars for the fourth quarter of 2015, and earnings per share of 28 cents. Shares of Morgan Stanley rose over 1.5 percent in the midday trading after the company posted its fourth quarter net revenues of 7.7 billion dollars and earnings per diluted share of 39 cents.
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