Tuesday Afternoon Cheat Sheet: 3 Stories That Moved Markets

After starting the day on wobbly feet, the U.S. equity markets managed to close higher after the Nasdaq swung to gains late in the day. Investors are looking ahead to major tech earnings this week, and hoping to see more earnings beats. So far this season, 59.4 percent of companies have beat bottom-line expectations.

At the close: DJIA: +0.46%, S&P 500: +0.33%, NASDAQ: +0.27%.

Here are three stories that helped shape markets today:

1) On Tuesday, gold futures for February delivery, the most active contract, increased $6.20 to settle at $1,693.20 per ounce, while silver futures for March rose 25 cents to close at $32.18.

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Both precious metals showed strength as the Bank of Japan fires more shots in the global currency war. The central bank doubled its inflation target to 2 percent and made a commitment to start open-ended monetary easing next year. Starting in 2014, the BOJ will purchase 13 trillion yen in assets each month, including 2 trillion yen in long-term government bonds and 10 trillion yen in treasury discount bills. (Read more.)