By Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with
gains pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 17,000, while
the S&P 500 hovered near record levels as estimate-beating
corporate earnings and better-than-expected consumer confidence
data lifted sentiment.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was up 5.2 points, or 0.3%, at 1,984.10.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 64 points, or 0.4%, to
17,047.08. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) gained 24 points, or 0.5%,
to 4,468.87.
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action.
Consumer confidence index jumped unexpectedly to 90.9 in July,
the highest since October 2007.
Earlier, a report from the Case-Shiller 20-city composite index
showed U.S. house prices rose in May, with every city showing
gains. Prices fell on a seasonally adjusted basis, however.
Year-over-year growth also slowed down.
Data released Monday showed pending U.S. homes sales fell 1.1%
in June, the first decline in four months. That report "confirmed
Fed Chair Yellen's remarks before the Senate Banking committee
earlier this month about the overall slowdown in the housing
sector," wrote Marshall Gittler, head of global FX strategy at
IronFX, on Tuesday.
Yellen will lead monetary policy makers in their two-day meeting
that started Tuesday morning.
Shares of Merck & Co. (MRK) -- a component of the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) -- rose 1.4% after the drug maker's
adjusted earnings and sales surpassed expectations.
Shares of fellow Dow component Pfizer Inc. (PFE) were flat after
the pharmaceutical company's second-quarter results came in ahead
of Wall Street's targets.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) shares gained 3%, after earnings per
share beat analysts' expectations, but revenue fell short of
them.
Aetna (AET) fell 2.9% even as the health insurer raised its 2014
operating earnings projection based on improvement in
second-quarter results from the year-earlier period.
Logistics company United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) dropped 3.4%
after missing forecasts and lowering its guidance.
Stock in Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) fell 12%, extending losses from
late Monday when the nutritional supplements marketer posted
quarterly results that missed Wall Street's targets.
Investors will also keep watch for any update about further
sanctions that may be imposed against Russia by the European Union
related to its conflict with Ukraine.
After the regular session ends, Twitter Inc. (TWTR) is slated to
release second-quarter results.
In Asia, most major stock markets ended higher, with Japan's
Nikkei Average up 0.6%. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged higher
on upbeat earnings reports.
Oil prices (CLU4) turned slightly lower, while gold (GCU4) rose
nearly $5. The U.S. dollar index (DXY), which measures the
greenback against a basket of six other currencies, rose to 81.061
from 81.025 on Monday.
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