Dow rises 273 points as markets rally; Alphabet beats earnings expectations

Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. markets rallied Tuesday to begin the month of February after ending January with losses on the heels of a volatile week of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 273.38 points, or 0.78%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.69% and the Nasdaq Composite closed the day up 0.75% as all three posted their third consecutive day of gains.

Tech stocks helped to lead the way Tuesday with Netflix rising 7.02%, while Facebook parent, Meta, climbed 1.83%.

Google's parent company, Alphabet, was up 1.73% in regular trading and the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations after the bell with profits rising 36% to $20.64 billion, while revenue rose 32%. Shares rose 6.91% in after-hours trading following the news.

"After being wildly distracted in the month of January, investors and traders are finally refocusing on earnings season," Jeff Kilburg, chief investment officer of Sanctuary Wealth, said, according to CNBC. "Seeing some of these beats and improved forward guidance has created a lot of optimism inside of this earnings season, which we kind of neglected due to the fact that the Federal Reserve took the center stage."

Markets entered Tuesday with the S&P and Nasdaq coming off of their worst month since March 2020, fueled in part by concern over the Federal Reserve indicating it plans to hike interest rates to combat rising prices.

While investors are pleased with the turnaround to start the month, markets are bracing for an increase of at least 25 basis points next month with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggesting the hike was likely to come in March.

"We are encouraged by the big reversal in stocks last week and we think stocks are in the process of forming a meaningful bottom," LPL Financial chief market strategist Ryan Detrick said in a note. "But the truth is, this year is going to be much more volatile than last year and investors had better buckle up their seat belts if the first month is any indication."

Tuesday saw the 10-year treasury yield rise 2 basis points to above 1.8%, providing a boost to bank stocks.

Shares of Wells Fargo rose 3.35%, while Goldman Sachs gained 2.64% and JPMorgan Chase climbed 1.72%.