U.S. stocks finished sharply higher on Tuesday as anxiety about the banking sector receded after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s reassurances on containing the banking crisis buoyed market sentiment. All three major stock indexes booked back-to-back gains ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve interest-rate decision.
How stocks traded
The S&P 500
SPX,
+1.30%
climbed 51.30 points, or 1.3%, to finish at 4,002.87.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.98%
was up 316.02 points, or 1%, to end at 32,560.60.
The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+1.58%
gained 184.57 points, or 1.6%, ending at 11,860.11.
What drove markets Yellen vowed on Tuesday that there would be more U.S. support for small bank depositors if needed, but she also told an industry group that “the situation is stabilizing” after recent moves by the government. Reports that the U.S. Treasury is considering boosting the guarantees on bank deposits was also helping the mood. Increased investor optimism about the banking system after the rescue takeover of Credit Suisse
CS,
+2.46%
by its long-term rival UBS
UBS,
+11.97%
also helped lift U.S. regional stocks. Shares of First Re …