Wall Street jumps as S&P snaps 3-day slump; Fed on tap

-Airlines rise on forecasts
-Energy shares fall as oil drops below $100 a barrel (Updates to market close)

U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday and the S&P 500 ended a 3-day skid as another drop in oil prices and a softer-than-expected reading on producer prices helped ease inflation fears among investors, with the focus turning to the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy announcement.

Brent crude settled below $100 a barrel after rocketing higher to more than $139 last week, providing some temporary relief for equity investors that have seen stocks come under pressure this year from surging inflation concerns, uncertainty over the Fed's policy path to tame rising prices and more recently, escalating conflict in Ukraine.

According to preliminary data, the $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ gained 89.55 points, or 2.15%, to end at 4,262.66 points, while the $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ gained 364.78 points, or 2.90%, to 12,946.00. $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ rose 611.23 points, or 1.86%, to 33,556.47.

$S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ slumped about 2.4% in the prior three sessions and recently joined the Dow, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 in forming a "death cross" technical pattern, when a short-term moving average crosses below a longer-term moving average, which some investors believe signals more near-term weakness is likely.

Megacap growth stocks gained with $Microsoft(MSFT.US)$ and $Apple(AAPL.US)$ providing the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

$Delta Air Lines(DAL.US)$ and $United Airlines(UAL.US)$ jumped after the U.S. carriers raised their current-quarter revenue forecasts, even as they trimmed capacity.