US stocks jump on Apple earnings, talk of ECB stimulus

US stocks barreled higher Tuesday, propelled by talk of broader monetary stimulus in Europe and a strong Apple earnings report that helped lift the Nasdaq by more than 100 points.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 16,613.94, up 214.27 points (1.31 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 37.06 (1.95 percent) to 1,941.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 103.40 (2.40 percent) to 4,419.48.
Apple, the biggest US company by market capitalization, rose 2.7 percent as fourth-quarter profits jumped 13 percent to $8.5 billion on strong iPhone sales.
US stocks also gained momentum from speculation that the European Central Bank could widen its bond-buying initiatives to corporate bonds. The chatter lifted France's CAC 40 and other European bourses by more than 2.0 percent.
The norm in markets currently is for big swings in the indices, said Michael James of Wedbush Securities.
"The volatility we've had is only going to perpetuate more volatility," he said.