New York, Apr 15 (IANS): US equities advanced, bolstered by strong gains in major tech shares.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 558.99 points, or 2.39 per cent, to 23,949.76. The S&P 500 was up 84.43 points, or 3.06 per cent, to 2,846.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 323.32 points, or 3.95 per cent, to 8,515.74.

Shares of US tech giants such as Apple, Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet closed noticeably higher, contributing to the market rally.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson climbed 4.48 per cent after the drug and consumer health company reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.

JPMorgan Chase stock gave up earlier gains to end 2.74 percent lower. The US bank titan on Tuesday posted a big decline in first-quarter earnings from the coronavirus.

Analysts expect S&P 500 earnings growth to decline 10.2 per cent in the first quarter year over year, according to data from Refinitiv.

Investors also paid close attention to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projection on global economy.

The global economy is on track to contract "sharply" by 3 per cent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, much worse than during the 2008-09 financial crisis, according to IMF's World Economic Outlook released Tuesday.