US close: Stocks jump as geopolitical tensions ease a tad
Wall Street's main market gauges finished the session broadly higher following moves by the US and China at the weekend to calm the situation on the Korean peninsula.
By the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrials had added 135.39 points or 0.62% to 21,993.71, alongside a 24.52 point or 1.0% gain for the S&P 500 to 2,465.84 and a 83.68 point or 1.34% advance in the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite to 6,340.23.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange's volatility index was 20.50% lower to 12.393. From a sector standpoint, the best performance was seen in the following industry groups: Semiconductors (2.67%) Marine transportation (2.37%), and Technology (1.96%).
In a telephone conversation on Saturday, US president Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed on the need for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
Xi also told Trump all sides needed to show restraint and avoid making inflammatory remarks.
"The dust has settled somewhat, and seeing as the US is talking more along political lines rather than military action, traders took this as a positive sign," said David Madden at CMC Markets UK.
For his part, Gaurav Saroliya, Director of Global macro strategy at Oxford Economics, said the "global expansion is likely to continue over the next six to 12 months. Geopolitical risks will really have to threaten the world economy to send markets into a deep tailspin. So, while we accept that there can be further short-term market downside from the North Korea-US war of words, the key fact is that global growth remains solid."
However, tensions were still present on other fronts, including on trade between the China and the US.
Ahead of the expected launch on Monday of a US trade investigation into alleged Chinese violations of intellectual property laws, a spokesman for Beijing decried the move by Washington as pressure on his government to act against Pyongyang.
No economic data was released in the States on Tuesday.
However, in an interview with AP, New York Fed chief William Dudley reportedly backed another interest rate increase in 2017 if the economy evolved as he expected.
"It depends on how the economic forecast evolves," Dudley told AP. "If it evolves in line with my expectations [...] I would be in favor of doing another rate hike later this year."
On the corporate front, Moody's assigned Amazon's long-term debt a Baa1 rating ahead of an expected $16bn sale to help fund its purchase of Whole Foods market.
Andeavor Logistics said it would purchase master limited partnership Western Refining Logistics LP in a transaction with an enterprise value of $1.8bn, including debt.
In other M&A news, VF Corp. announced it would acquire Williamson-Dickie Mfg.Co. for approximately $820m in cash.
Snap topped the NYSE's list of most active shares following sharp share price losses during the previous session.
Dow Jones - Risers
Visa Inc. (V) $101.87 1.78%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $159.85 1.50%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $73.59 1.50%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.76 1.50%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $227.40 1.43%
American Express Co. (AXP) $85.47 1.40%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.78 1.37%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.34 1.31%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.84 1.18%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $92.49 1.17%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.40 -0.58%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $108.71 -0.48%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $154.26 -0.40%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $157.26 -0.03%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $78.22 0.03%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.31 0.18%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $81.15 0.22%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $117.15 0.22%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $133.41 0.29%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $142.30 0.34%
S&P 500 - Risers
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $168.40 7.98%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $29.24 4.39%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $82.83 3.67%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $71.42 3.66%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $25.47 3.24%
VF Corp. (VFC) $63.43 3.12%
Praxair Inc. (PX) $131.05 2.84%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $48.87 2.80%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $158.55 2.78%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $250.91 2.76%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $13.03 -7.26%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $29.63 -4.05%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $11.63 -4.04%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.18 -3.00%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $35.67 -2.33%
TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) $69.62 -2.04%
Apache Corp. (APA) $41.57 -1.93%
Hess Corp. (HES) $40.54 -1.91%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $54.28 -1.88%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $61.82 -1.76%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $168.40 7.98%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $29.24 4.39%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $82.83 3.67%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $158.55 2.78%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $250.91 2.76%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $79.90 2.38%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $964.56 2.37%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $45.44 2.37%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $61.98 2.31%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $105.47 2.22%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $29.63 -4.05%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $44.25 -3.59%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $52.48 -2.54%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $54.28 -1.88%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $26.36 -1.72%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $26.55 -1.63%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $54.77 -1.42%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $30.22 -1.40%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $236.97 -1.34%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $248.47 -1.03%