Investing.com – Wall Street traded higher on Tuesday on the back of positive earnings flow from Dow components while the Nasdaq broke the 6,000 psychological barrier at all-time highs.
At 11:30AM ET (15:30GMT), the Dow Jones rose 231 points, or 1.11%, the S&P 500 gained 13 points, or 0.55%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 36 points, or 0.61%.
Blue-chip earnings boosted investor sentiment on Tuesday with the top advancers on the Dow having released their quarterly numbers and all three sporting gains of more than 3%.
In the lead, Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) jumped more than 6% as industrial equipment manufacturer reported an earnings-per-share (EPS) of $1.28, smashing forecasts for just $0.62.
McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) saw shares gain around 4% as global comparable sales jumped 4%, trouncing the consensus estimate for a 1.3% increase.
Dupont (NYSE:DD) was 3% higher as the chemicals and seeds producer beat profit estimates for a seventh straight quarter.
3M (NYSE:MMM) advanced about 0.5% after reporting a 3.8% increase in quarterly revenue that helped the maker of Post-its beat on both the top and bottom line.
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) was an exception to the rule, trading around the unchanged mark after the eighth consecutive decline in quarterly revenues caused the beverage giant to miss on EPS by a penny.
Outside the Dow and after the market close, the likes of AT&T (NYSE:T), Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) or Capital One (NYSE:COF) were on tap to release quarterly numbers.
On the economic front, new home sales jumped 5.8% to an 8-month high in March.
Although U.S. consumer confidence fell more than expected in April, Conference Board director of economic indicators Lynn Franco suggested that “consumers remain confident that the economy will continue to expand in the months ahead.”
Meanwhile, oil prices erased overnight gains in North American trading on Tuesday, falling to a fresh four-week low as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (20:30GMT) later on Tuesday, while official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of 1.3 million barrels.
U.S. crude futures lost 0.26% to $49.10 by 11:31AM ET (15:31GMT), while Brent oil traded down 0.17% to $52.04.