"I think this still has some way to run," Philippe Gijsels, a strategist at Fortis NV, told The Wall Street Journal, referring to the recent comeback in stocks. "A number of things are supporting it, such as money coming into funds at the beginning of the year and the fact that we are still massively oversold," he said.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.69 percent, up 62.21 points to 9,015.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.78 percent, 7.24 points, to 934.69. The Nasdaq composite index gained 24.35 points, 1.5 percent, to 1,652.38.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,460 stocks advanced and 682 declined on a volume of 5.5 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 3/32 to yield 2.486 percent.

The euro fell to $1.3507, compared to Monday's $1.3574. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 93.80 yen, up from Monday's 93.32 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average added 37.72 points to 9,080.84, up 0.42 percent.

The FTSE 100 index in London rose 1.29 percent, up 59.28 points to 4,638.92.