By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock indexes rose on Tuesday,
lifting the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
to record heights, as Wall Street embraced the start of
first-quarter earnings.
"The fundamentals are too good to put a ceiling on the market.
During the fourth quarter, companies gave very, very muted outlooks
on the first quarter, so earnings might be mildly surprising on the
upside," said Margie Patel, senior portfolio manager at Wells
Capital Management.
After climbing 102.98 points to an all-time intraday high of
14,716.46, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was lately up
92.48 points at 14,705.96, above its all-time finish of 14,662.01,
set one week ago
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Intel Corp. (INTC) paced gains that
included all but four of the blue-chip index's 30 members.
Alcoa Inc. (AA) shares drifted between slight gains and losses a
day after the aluminum producer reported results that marked the
unofficial start of the earnings season. (Read more about how Alcoa
earnings could boost the market:
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/04/09/how-alcoas-earnings-beat-could-fuel-the-sp-500/.)
After advancing to an intraday record of 1,573.89, the S&P
500 index (SPX) was more recently at 1,573.23, up 10.16 points and
above its 1,570.25 record finish set April 2.
All 10 of the S&P 500 index's 10 sectors advanced, led by
natural-resource and energy, which drew support from Chinese
inflation that slowed more than had been expected.
Amid allegations of insider trading, KPMG resigned on Tuesday as
auditor at Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) and Skechers USA Inc. (SKX) .
Shares of both companies were halted for a period during the
session.
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) plummeted as analysts deemed Myron
Ullman's return to the helm of the struggling retailer as not
necessarily a fix for the struggling retailer. See also whether
there is value in a buyout of J.C. Penney.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) climbed 25 points to 3,247.39.
For every stock falling two gained on the New York Stock
Exchange, where 390 million shares traded as of 3 p.m. Eastern.
Composite volume surpassed 2.3 billion.
The dollar (DXY) fell against other global currencies, including
the yen (USDJPY) and the euro (EURUSD) .
Longer-term Treasury prices held steady or fell, with the yield
on the benchmark 10-year note (10_YEAR) used to determine the rate
of mortgages and other consumer loans at 1.749%.
"Investors would love to see higher interest rates; I just don't
see it," said Wells Capital's Patel, who adds the relatively muted
price of commodities will keep inflation low.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of oil (CLK3)
rose 81 cents to $94.18 a barrel, while gold futures for April
delivery (GCJ3) gained $14.20, or 0.9%, to end at $1,586.20 an
ounce.
On Monday, U.S. stocks finished modestly higher as investors
again viewed a market dip as a buying opportunity.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires