By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The S&P rallied Tuesday, shrugging off mostly weaker corporate earnings and lingering fears over the new coronavirus as the U.S. stepped up measures to curb a potential outbreak.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.06%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.37% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.82%.
As the busiest week of earnings continues to unfold, traders had to contend with a slew of mostly bearish quarterly reports.
3M (NYSE:MMM) slipped about 6% after the industrial giant reported quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street estimates. United Technologies (NYSE:UTX), however, beat quarterly estimates on both the top and bottom lines, sending its shares about 2% higher.
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), meanwhile, fell 4% after its missed quarterly earnings estimates, driven partly by the loss of exclusivity for its pain drug Lyrica.
The rebound in the broader market, following a rout a day earlier, comes against lingering concerns about the coronavirus as the death toll in China continues to rise.
China's death toll from the coronavirus rose to 103 and it reported that the number of people infected with the virus jumped 60% overnight.
The virus has mostly been isolated to China, with a handful of cases reported elsewhere, but the U.S. has stepped up preventative measures.
Health Secretary Alex Azar warned that the disease potentially represents a "very serious public health threat,” and confirmed that the Trump administration is expanding screening for the virus from five to 20 U.S. airports.
Casino stocks, which are among the worst hit by the outbreak of virus in China, clawed back some of their recent losses, with Wynn (NASDAQ:WYNN), Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) trading above the flatline.
A surge in chip stocks, meanwhile, underpinned the rally in the tech ahead of key earnings from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) due later today.