Earnings, energy take stocks higher

NEW YORK - Stocks resumed their advance after investors got the numbers they wanted from first-quarter earnings reports.

Investors set aside some concerns about the government's civil fraud case against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and looked to profit numbers. A bounce in the price of crude oil after a two-week slide helped energy stocks.

Harley-Davidson Inc., industrial equipment maker Illinois Tool Works Inc., and regional bank Marshall & Ilsley Corp. rose after reporting earnings.

Goldman Sachs said its first-quarter profit nearly doubled on higher trading revenue. However, the stock fell on concerns about the company's legal troubles.

After the closing bell, Apple Inc. said its first-quarter profit jumped 90 percent after it sold more iPhones and Macintosh computers. The stock rose 6 percent in electronic trading after ending the regular session lower.

James Meyer, chief investment officer at Tower Bridge Advisors in Conshohocken, Pa., said stocks aren't as likely to leap higher as they were even days ago because expectations have risen.

"We all know now that the economy is recovering at a rate that is faster than we thought two or three weeks ago and the market has adjusted," Meyer said. He said that could bring more volatility in the coming weeks when investors start looking for something else to move the market.

Tuesday's advance extended a streak of steady gains seen in the past two months. Improving economic and earnings reports have given investors more confidence that the economy will mount a sustained recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 25.01, or 0.2 percent, to 11,117.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.65, or 0.8 percent, to 1,207.17. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 20.20, or 0.8 percent, to 2,500.31.

Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia, said the market climbed with little break ahead of the earnings reports so a slowdown isn't unexpected.

Crude oil for May delivery rose $2 to $83.45 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Goldman Sachs fell $3.34, or 2.1 percent, to $159.98.

Illinois Tool rose $1.90, or 3.9 percent, to $50.71, while Marshall & Ilsley rose 90 cents, or 10.7 percent, to $9.31. Harley-Davidson advanced $2.40, or 7.3 percent, to $35.17.

Apple said it sold nearly nine million iPhone smart phones for the three months that ended March 27, more than double a year earlier. Its revenue and earnings far outstripped most analysts' expectations.

Shares of Apple rose $14.73, or 6 percent, to $259.98 in after-hours trading after falling $2.48, or 1 percent, to $244.59 in regular trading.

Exxon Mobil rose 74 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $68.97. Schlumberger Ltd., which provides services to oil companies, rose $2.61, or 4 percent, to $67.85. Chevron rose 73 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $82.05.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 10.15, or 1.4 percent, to 721.55.