Wall Street advances on earnings optimism, dovish rate rise remarks

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 499.51 points, or 1.45%, to 34,911.2, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 70.52 points, or 1.61%, to 4,462.21 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 287.30 points, or 2.15%, to 13,619.66. The advances were the most by all three since March 16.

NEW YORK: The three main Wall Street benchmarks had their best days in over a month on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq closing up 2.2%, as investors responded to positive earnings and dovish comments from two U.S. Federal Reserve officials on interest rate rises.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N advanced 3.1% to a second record close in three sessions, as the drugmaker's quarterly profit exceeded market expectations and it raised its dividend payout. Read full story