By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rose sharply Tuesday as
gold bounced back from its biggest decline in decades and earnings
from Coca-Cola Co. topped expectations.
"Fundamentally we feel good about the earnings that are coming
through, [and] it looks like it's going to be the same as the last
few quarters," with roughly 60% beating expectations, 20% matching
and 20% falling short, said Chip Cobb, portfolio manager at BMT
Asset Management at the Bryn Mawr Trust Co. in Bryn Mawr, Pa.
"We hope and pray that Boston is a singular event, and that's
all there is going to be," Cobb said of Monday's bombings at the
Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured 176 others,
with 17 still in critical condition.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) recouped a
large chunk of its 265-point loss the prior day, rising as much as
151 points and was most recently up 112.67 points to 14,711.87.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) added 16.57 points to 1,568.93, with
materials leading the gains across all 10 of its major sectors.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 36.99 points to 3,253.48.
For every stock falling roughly four gained on the New York
Stock Exchange, where 426 million shares traded as of 2:40 p.m.
Eastern.
Composite volume approached 2.5 billion.
Treasury prices slid, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year
note (10_YEAR) used in determining mortgages and other consumer
loans rising to 1.72%.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold
futures for June delivery (GCM3) climbed $26.30 to finish at
$1,387.40 an ounce, recovering a slight piece of what was lost
after their steepest decline since 1983.
The price of oil was lower, with futures for May delivery (CLK3)
down 10 cents at $88.59 a barrel.
Tuesday's economic reports had U.S. housing starts rising 7% in
March, paced by apartment-building construction, exceeding analyst
expectations, while consumer inflation fell 0.2% last month and
industrial production increased 0.4%.
Shares of Dell Inc. (DELL) were up 0.1% after the
personal-computer maker said a special committee of its board had
reached an agreement with billionaire investor Carl Icahn to cap
his share ownership as Dell mulls takeover offers from Icahn's firm
as well as from a group led by CEO Michael Dell and from buyout
specialist Blackstone Group.
Goldman Sachs shares (GS) erased initial gains after the
investment bank reported first-quarter results that beat Wall
Street expectations, but trading revenue disappointed and Chairman
and CEO Lloyd Blankfein took a cautious tone.
Shares of Coca-Cola Co. (KO) rose 5.3% after the beverage maker
reported first-quarter results that beat expectations, while
retailer Target Corp. (TGT) warned first-quarter earnings would
come in below expectations, taking a toll on Target shares.
BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the biggest U.S. provider of
exchange-traded funds, topped Wall Street forecasts with a 10% rise
in first-quarter profit. U.S. Bancorp (USB) matched earnings
forecasts, while revenue saw an unexpected drop.
Johnson & Johnson(JNJ) gained 1.8% after the maker of drugs
and medical devices reported first-quarter revenue that beat
expectations.
After Tuesday's close, internet-search engine Yahoo Inc. (YHOO)
will report on its first quarter, with analysts looking for
confirmation that Yahoo's turnaround bid remains intact.
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