MW: Stocks rise as earnings beat, Italy yields drop
Netflix shares surge; Apple earnings due after the closing bell
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, as investors embraced upbeat corporate earnings that fueled a surge by Netflix Inc. while awaiting Apple Inc.’s results in the afternoon.
The decline in sovereign-debt yields including in the distressed Spanish and Italian markets also bolstered the case for equities.
“Several countries are reporting record-low yields for their sovereign debt across maturities ranging from two years to 10 years,” noted Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at Davidson Cos.
Shares of video-streaming and rental service Netflix Inc. NFLX +22.76% surged more than 24% a day after the online-video provider beat Wall Street forecasts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.97% rallied 121.72 points to 14,688.89, with 24 of its 30 components rising, led by Travelers Companies Inc. TRV +2.56% , gaining 2.9% after the insurer reported a jump in first-quarter profit.
The S&P 500 index SPX +0.93% added 12.07 points to 1,574.57, with finance companies leading the gains that included nine of its 10 major industry sectors.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP +1.04% climbed 30.54 points to 3,264.10.
For every stock on the decline nearly half a dozen gained on the New York Stock Exchange, where 127 million shares exchanged hands by 10:15 a.m. Eastern. Composite volume neared 649 million.
The price of oil fell, with crude futures CLM3 -0.58% down 73 cents at $88.46 a barrel and gold GCM3 -0.80% fell $13.80 to $1,407.50 an ounce.
DuPont Co. DD +2.96% said first-quarter earnings more than doubled as drought conditions prompted farmers to buy more drought-resistant seeds and other products to protect crops from the chemicals maker.
United Technologies Corp. UTX -0.80% shares gained after the diversified manufacturer on Tuesday reported a better-than-estimated profit, with its chief executive in part crediting the company’s 2012 purchase of Goodrich, which makes parts for airplanes.
Lockheed Martin Corp.’s LMT +2.19% shares climbed after the weapons supplier reported per-share earnings that beat Wall Street’s estimates, but also warned U.S. budget cuts could bring full-year revenue down to the lower end of its prior guidance.
Rebounding after their worst week in months, U.S. stocks climbed Monday, as investors anticipated earnings from the technology sector.
Apple AAPL +0.60% will be in focus when it reports after the closing bell, with shares having dropped more than 30% over the past 12 months after falling prey to a steady drumbeat of warnings over slower iPhone sales. Its shares on Tuesday were up 1%. Read more on lessons from Apple’s time at the top of the market-cap ranking.
Data showed that U.S. sales of new single-family homes rose 1.5% in March to an annual rate of 417,000 from 411,000 in February. Other data Tuesday had the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s home-price index rising 0.7% in February and Markit’s “flash” U.S. PMI for April sliding to a six-month low.
Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York. Follow her on Twitter @MWKateGibson.
