NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks finished at their highest levels in three years Tuesday afternoon, as investors cheered another batch of earnings results and a better-than-expected report on consumer confidence.The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 115 points, or 0.9%, the S&P 500 (SPX) rose 12 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) added 22 points, or 0.8%. Both the Dow and the S&P climbed to their highest levels since June 2008, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at its highest mark since October 2007.
"Corporate earnings have been strong and are a good sign of global growth," said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Cancaccord Adams.
So far, a third of the S&P 500 companies have opened their books, and 75% of them have beat expectations, according to Thomson Reuters. Earning are up almost 19%, while sales have climbed nearly 3%.
Investors largely shrugged off another dour reading on the housing market. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index showed that eight straight months of declines have now put home prices near post-crisis lows reached in 2009.
"The market is scrapping the housing data," Rovelli said. "Everyone know the housing market is a disaster and it's not getting better anytime soon."
Meanwhile, this week also brings Wednesday's Federal Reserve press conference and Thursday's report on U.S. economic growth.
"There's some anxiety about Bernanke's press conference tomorrow and the GDP numbers on Thursday," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James. "Towards the end of the day you may see a little bit of nervousness in markets."
The dollar fell against the euro and the Japanese yen, but rose versus the British pound.
Oil for June delivery slipped 7 cents to settle at $112.21 a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery fell $5.60 to finish at $1,503.50 an ounce. Silver prices pulled back sharply to settle at $45.05 an ounce, one day after prices came within spitting distance of the key $50-an-ounce level.
No comments:
Post a Comment