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"Favorable earnings results from Apple, DuPont and AmEx overnight still managed to overshadow fresh concerns about credit related write-offs in the financial sector," said analysts at Action Economics.
The market first struggled in morning trade on concerns fueled by Target Corp.'s (TGT 61.36, -0.19, -0.3%) lowered guidance and after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT 43.93, -1.32, -2.9%) cut its capital spending forecast.
But the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU 13,676.23, +109.26, +0.8%) rallied in afternoon trade and gained 109 points to close at 13,676. American Express Co. (AXP 58.66, +1.79, +3.2%) was among the stocks recording the larger gains, up 2.5% after the credit-card and travel-services company tallied an 11% rise in profits for the third quarter. See full story.
Wal-Mart (WMT 43.93, -1.32, -2.9%) , a Dow component and the nation's biggest retailer, said Tuesday it plans to trim capital expenditures for the current fiscal year more than forecast. Its stock was recently down 3%.
'Favorable earnings results from Apple, DuPont and AmEx overnight still managed to overshadow fresh concerns about credit related write-offs in the financial sector.'
— Action Economics.
"It's all about earnings today," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.
The S&P 500 index ($SPX 1,519.59, +13.26, +0.9%) rose 13 points to close at 1,519. Most of the gains were in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP 2,799.26, +45.33, +1.7%) which rallied 45 points, or 1.6%, to end at 2,799.
Shares of Apple (AAPL 186.16, +11.80, +6.8%) rose 6.8% after the consumer-electronics company reported a 67% increase in earnings in the fourth quarter on solid iPod and iPhone sales. Read more.
Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN 100.82, +9.53, +10.4%) jumped over 9%, closing in on the $100 mark, ahead of the company's third-quarter report after the closing bell.
Other tech highlights included, Research in Motion (RIMM 124.53, +11.15, +9.8%) whose shares gained nearly 10% after the company announced a deal to sell its popular BlackBerry wireless devices in China.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 1.3 billion, and advancing stocks outran declining issues roughly 11 to 5. On the technology-laden Nasdaq, nearly 2.4 billion shares exchanged hands, and gainers outpaced