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Stocks rose on Tuesday, broadly supported on expectations the Federal Reserve could strike a dovish tone at its latest monetary-policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped at the opening by 119.52 points to 26,033.62, led by gains in Goldman Sachs and Walgreens Boots Alliance.
The S&P 500 moved higher 10.6 points to 2,843.46, as the materials and consumer discretionary sectors outperformed.
The NASDAQ Composite strengthened 31.22 points to 7,745.69
The Fed kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. Market expectations for a rate hike are at zero, with most investors pricing in no change in policy. However, investors will look for clues on the Fed's economic outlook.
Stocks have been on a tear since the Fed's last meeting in late January. In that time, the S&P 500 has risen more than 5%. The broad index is also up more than 12% for 2019 in part because investors expect less policy tightening for the year.
On the data front, January factory orders numbers were due Tuesday morning.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 2.63% from Monday’s 2.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were up 16 cents to $59.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $8.90 to $1,310.40 U.S. an ounce.
