The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 183.15 points, or 0.51 percent, to 36,252.02. The S&P 500 was up 42.78 points, or 0.92 percent, to 4,713.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 210.62 points, or 1.41 percent, to 15,153.45.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy and technology up 3.41 percent and 1.21 percent, respectively, outpacing the rest. Utilities slipped 0.92 percent, the worst-performing group.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded higher with all the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.
Investors parsed U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony.
At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Powell said that the Fed will have to raise interest rates more if inflation remains elevated.
"The economy no longer needs or wants the very highly accommodative policies we've had in place to deal with the pandemic and the aftermath," he said, adding the central bank will use its tools to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched.
Powell's overall message on Tuesday was less hawkish than some investors had expected, analysts noted.
U.S. equities have been quite volatile recently amid rate fears.
Rising interest rates could make stocks, particularly high-flying technology stocks, less attractive, since their valuations are based on future growth and cash flow. When interest rates rise, the value of that future cash flow is discounted.
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