The Dow posted gains on Tuesday, supported by a spate of mostly favourable retailer quarterly results and dip-buying in large tech and energy after a loss in the prior day. 

The Nasdaq rose by 1.36%, the S&P 500 went up by 1.36%, and the Dow Jones gained 1.2%, or 397 points. 

After raising full-year outlook and reporting quarterly results that beat on both the top and bottom lines, Best Buy finished up about 13%, leading a rally in retailers as an increase in promotional activity bolstered demand. 

Prior to the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's October meeting, tech stocks were on the rise, supported by a decline in Treasury yields. 

The Fed made a suggestion that the rate hikes would be slowed down at its meeting in December, but it also said that the peak rate hike would be greater than anticipated. Concerns about the Fed failing to prevent a recession or soft landing at a time when global economy is weakening have been sparked by the likelihood of higher rates for longer periods of time. 

Meanwhile, Zoom shares fell almost 4% as a result of its reduction in full-year sales expectations, which was made in response to worries about sluggish consumer spending. 

Strong Covid-19 comps, small- to medium-sized business churn, and normalising sales cycles are among the near-term headwinds the maker of video conferencing software must contend with. These factors will "create near-term headwinds to revenue growth over the next 4-6 quarters," according to a note from Goldman Sachs. 

As traders reacted to rumours that producer OPEC+ would declare another production cut at its December meeting to extend the 2-million-barrel-per-day decrease put in place this month, oil prices increased almost 1% on Tuesday, marking their biggest jump in two weeks. 

Oil prices were also supported by expectations that U.S. crude stocks would have decreased last week for a second consecutive week. 

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)