STORY: Wall Street's main indexes closed higher on Tuesday, as investors assessed Donald Trump's first actions as U.S. president and appeared encouraged he didn't kick off his second term with blanket tariff increases.

The Dow gained about one-and-a-quarter percent, the S&P 500 added almost nine-tenths of a percent and the Nasdaq climbed more than six tenths of a percent.

While markets remain cautious about tariffs, investor optimism is high, said Robert Conzo, CEO and managing director of The Wealth Alliance.

"I think there's just a very strong, positive feeling coming off of that inaugural address. And the positive feeling drives around earnings and corporate CEOs lining up behind Trump saying, 'Let's get on the Trump train.' And you saw that during the inauguration. You saw some of the heads of industry literally sitting by his family. CEOs are on board, for the most part, with Trump. That's good for those companies, most likely, and as such, that may be good for the market."

After the close, shares of Netflix - which gained in Tuesday's session - surged in extended trading after the streaming giant added nearly 19 million subscribers in its holiday quarter, blowing past Wall Street's forecasts.

Other stocks on the move Tuesday included 3M, which rallied more than 4% after reporting upbeat fourth-quarter results.

Utilities got a lift from nuclear power stocks, including Vistra Corp and NRG Energy, after Trump issued a flurry of orders intended to boost energy production.

Shares of automakers rose. They're most sensitive to tariffs due to their vast supply chains. Ford added 2.5%, while General Motors gained 5.7% after a rating upgrade from Deutsche Bank.

On the flip side, heavyweight Apple was the S&P 500's biggest drag, losing more than 3%, after brokerage Jefferies cut its rating to "underperform."