Market Recap: Earning Give Markets a Nice Boost

Markets closed up today:

▲ Dow: +0.58 percent
▼ Nasdaq: -0.30 percent
▲ S&P: +0.37 percent

Precious metals:

▲ Gold: down +0.14 percent to $1,640.79 an ounce
▼ Silver: down –0.13 percent to settle at $30.78 an ounce

Commodities:

▲ Oil: +0.36 percent

Markets closed up because:

Muscular U.S. corporate earnings and higher spirits in Europe propelled U.S. stocks higher Tuesday.

Five of the 30 big companies that make up the Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 1.5 percent. AT&T led the gains after reporting better-than-expected profit. Verizon, AT&T’s main rival, was close behind. 3M rose sharply after delivering an impressive quarterly report. GE and DuPont rounded out the list of top gainers.

Traders punished Apple after AT&T said it activated far fewer of Apple’s iPhones. Apple fell two percent, dragging the Nasdaq composite average to a lower close. Apple shares more than recovered from the day‘s losses in late trading after the company announced another record quarterly profit that easily beat analysts’ estimates.

Earnings reports are blowing the tops of analysts’ expectations, providing temporary relief for markets roiled by fears about Europe.

The gains for blue chips were broad. Only five Dow components fell, led by Wal-Mart Stores. The world’s biggest retailer is reeling from reports over the weekend that top company officials knew about widespread bribery of foreign officials.

European stocks rallied into the close a day after one of their worst drops in months. Monday’s sell-off followed fears that deficit-cutting deals by some European nations might unravel.

On Tuesday, as Monday’s panicked atmosphere lifted, interest rates on Spanish bonds already in circulation declined. France’s CAC-40 index closed up 2.3 percent. Germany’s DAX rose one percent, London’s FTSE 100 0.8 percent.

Still, there were signs that Europe’s troubles persist. Bond investors demanded much higher interest rates from Spain and Italy when they auctioned new debt, suggesting that there is more pain ahead for those debt-strapped countries.

The Dow closed up 74.39 points, or 0.6 percent, at 13,001.56. IBM rose solidly after the company said it is raising its quarterly dividend and plans to repurchase $7 billion more of its stock.

The S&P 500 rose 5.03 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,371.97.

The Nasdaq composite average fell 8.85 points to 2,961.60. Apple is the Nasdaq’s biggest component and the biggest company by market value.

As stocks rose, traders sold ultra-safe Treasurys. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.97 percent from 1.94 percent late Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.