Dow finishes more than 250 points higher, Nasdaq climbs 1.9% after Fed Chair Powell says inflation is declining; European markets close slightly higher ahead of Powell speech 
Stocks advanced Tuesday following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments indicating inflation has started easing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 265.67 points, or 0.78%, to finish at 34,156.69. The S&P 500 added 1.29%, to close at 4,164.00 points. The Nasdaq Composite posted the biggest daily gain, climbing 1.9% to end at 12,113.79. 
Those gains came as investors cheered Powell’s comments on disinflation, hoping they indicated the central bank could continue slowing on its interest rate hike campaign. 
Shares of Zoom Video surged nearly 8% midday after the company announced plans to cut about 1,300 employees, or 15% of its workforce. The stock is up more than 24% so far this year. 
Pinterest shares tumbled 5% after the image discovery company posted mixed quarterly results with an adjusted earnings per share greater than analysts’ estimates, but revenue that fell short of expectations. Companies that rely on ad revenue have struggled with demand amid a macro downturn. 

BNP Paribas reported a 7% rise in net income for 2022 and revised up its profit targets. The French bank said net profit attributable to shareholders came in at 2.2 billion euros ($2.36 billion) for the fourth quarter, taking its full-year profit figure for 2022 to 10.2 billion euros. Analysts had expected a figure of 2.36 billion euros for the quarter and 10.9 billion euros for the year, according to Refinitiv. 
Oil major BP reported record annual profits, more than doubling last year’s total as fossil fuel prices soared following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 
The British energy giant posted underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $27.7 billion for 2022. That’s up from the previous year’s $12.8 billion. 
Source: CNBC, Investing.com