U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, as several major companies reported strong earnings and as reports indicated that Spain is mulling a request for a line of credit from the European Union.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.72% rose 63 points, or 0.5%, to 13,488 in early trading, with 26 of its 30 components trading higher.
Several Dow companies reported generally robust earnings ahead of the opening bell, including Johnson & Johnson JNJ +1.60% , UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH -0.57% and Coca-Cola Co KO -1.23% .
Two others — International Business Machines IBM +0.50% and Intel Corp. INTC +3.13% — are due to report after the closing bell Tuesday. Read: Big earnings to watch Tuesday: Goldman, Coca-Cola
The S&P 500 index SPX +0.69% gained 8 points to 1,448.21 and the Nasdaq Composite index COMP +0.49% climbed 9.16 points to 3,073.40.
Besides earnings, investors also digested September data showing a 0.6% rise in consumer prices and a 0.4% rebound in industrial output.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index is due for release at 10 a.m. Eastern, and economists expect the gauge to reach 42 in October, from 40 in September, which was the highest level since June 2006.
Shares of Citigroup Inc. C +1.41% were slightly lower after the bank unexpectedly said Tuesday that Chief Executive Vikram Pandit has stepped down from his post, effective immediately. He will be succeeded by Michael Corbat, who previously served as Citigroup’s CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Marketwatch
