Wall Street rally picks up steam, S&P inches closer to all-time high

Following a positive start to the day, major equity indexes in the U.S. gathered momentum boosted by the upbeat earnings figures. At the moment, the S&P 500 was up 1% on the day and was within 5 points of the all-time high of 2940 points that was set back in October. Moreover, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was adding 0.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was rising 2.05%.

Among the 11 major S%P 500 sectors, only Consumer Staples is now in the negative territory. On the other hand, Healthcare leads the rally with a daily gain of 1.85% and Technology and Communication Services, fueled by an impressive more-than-15% increase in Twitter shares, both add around 1% on the day.

Commenting on today's market action, "There has been concern about a synchronized global slowdown in some of these more cyclical companies, like industrials, so we're seeing some earnings which is soothing concerns. With a lowered bar coming into this earnings, we're seeing some decent earnings and that is helping keep markets where it is," Jeff Zipper managing director of Investments at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Palm Beach, Florida, told Reuters.