DOW : 13,900.13 Up 115.96(0.84%)

By: JeeYeon Park CNBC.com Writer

                

Stocks ended near their best levels Tuesday, recovering from their worst one-day drop in 2013, following Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech and buoyed by a batch of upbeat economic reports.
 

Major averages initially spiked higher after Bernanke defended the central bank's easy monetary policy, overturning fears from last week that the Fed might scale back its bond-buying program. But stocks gradually pulled back throughout the duration of his speech, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dipping into negative territory, as the Chairman failed to offer much new information to excite investors.

"It's standard talk and he didn't really rock the boat—the Fed is going to keep purchasing the bonds the way it is," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 115.96 points, or 0.84 percent, to end at 13,900.13, led by Home Depot and Intel.

The S&P 500 climbed 9.09 points, or 0.61 percent, to finish at 1,496.94. The Nasdaq gained 13.40 points, or 0.43 percent, to close at 3,129.65. Earlier, the Nasdaq traded at its lowest level since January 15.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, tumbled more than 11 percent to close below 17.