Stocks ticked up Tuesday as new Fed chair Janet Yellen stressed that monetary policy is unlikely to change much under her leadership.
Yellen is currently testifying before the House Financial Services Committee. It is her first appearance since taking the helm of the central bank earlier this month.
In prepared remarks, Yellen said the central bank plans to continue easing its stimulus program, a big driver of the 2013 stock market rally.
Since January, the Fed has gradually been reducing the pace of that stimulus. After buying $85 billion in bonds per month since September 2012, the Fed said in December it would cut its purchases to $75 billion, and then trimmed the size of its quantitative easing program to $65 billion in January.
While the Fed appeared on course last month to taper once again at its next meeting in March, two consecutive months of tepid jobs growth have caused investors to wonder what the Fed will do next. Investors will be listening to how Yellen responds to questions from lawmakers for clues about future policy moves.
Investors seem to like what they are hearing so far. CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index, which tracks various gauges of market sentiment, has been sitting in Extreme Fear mode over the past few weeks. But it moved up to plain old Fear levels thanks to Tuesday's move higher in stocks. That could be a reflection of a new sense of calm in the markets after recent volatility.
On the earnings front, Sprint (S, Fortune 500) shares surged after the wireless carrier reported better-than-expected revenue and decent subscriber gains. The company posted a loss, but the losses narrowed from a year earlier. Sprint has reportedly been thinking of making a bid for its rival T-Mobile (TMUS). But there are doubts about whether a deal would pass regulatory muster.
CVS Caremark (CVS, Fortune 500) shares gained after the drugstore chain reported quarterly increases in sales and profit. The company made waves last week when it announced it would soon stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Shares of cloud-computing firm Rackspace Hosting (RAX) tanked after CEO Lanham Napier said he would retire.
ConAgra Foods (CAG, Fortune 500)shares plunged after the packaged foods company cut its full year earnings outlook.
Shares in British bank Barclays (BCS) fell in London after the firm reported a big fall in fourth quarter earnings and said it would cut up to 12,000 jobs. But Barclays also said it would give bigger bonuses to its investment bankers.
European markets were broadly higher in afternoon trading, while Asian markets closed with sizable gains. 
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