U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, extending gains for a third day, as investors continue to bet global central banks will step in to support the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both rose about 0.5%. The Nasdaq gained nearly 0.9%.

All three indexes are at their highest levels since early May.

Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research, said investors are "content" with the policies central bankers in Europe and the United States are expected to take to support the economy.

"There's a bit more confidence that the ECB and the Fed will do what they can to stave off a worldwide recession," he said.

Hopes for more action by the Fed were fueled by comments from Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren.

Rosengren, who is not currently a voting member of the Fed's policy committee, told the Wall Street Journal that the central bank needs to take "more substantive action than we've taken to date."

Specifically, Rosengren called for an aggressive, open-ended policy of buying bonds, known as quantitative easing.

However, the Fed alone does not have the tools to promote growth and remains hesitant to act, said Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of asset manager Pimco. "The best the Fed can do is postpone the storm," El-Erian told CNN's Ali Velshi.

Meanwhile, investors continue to focus on corporate sales and earnings data.