More strength in earnings boosts stocks

NEW YORK - Solid earnings from a broad swath of U.S. companies pushed the stock market higher Tuesday.

Ameriprise Financial, a wealth management company, surged after posting earnings that exceeded Wall Street's expectations. The company also said it would buy back an additional $2.5 billion of its own stock and raise its dividend. Cummins, a maker of large diesel engines, jumped after the company said a surge in North American sales sent its earnings higher.

Just over half the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index have released their earnings for the first quarter and, with the occasional exception, the reports have contained enough good news to drive stock prices higher.

The S&P 500 rose 8.90 points, or 0.48 percent, to 1,878.33. The index is 12 points below its record high of 1,890.89, set April 2.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 86.63 points, or 0.53 percent, to 16,535.37. The Nasdaq composite gained 29.14 points, or 0.72 percent, to 4,103.54.

Ameriprise rose $6.04, or 5.8 percent, to $109.55. Financial stocks rose almost 1 percent, the biggest gain of the 10 industry groups that make up the S&P 500.

Cummins rose $5.61, or 3.9 percent, to $150.81 after the company posted its results and raised its sales outlook due to improving demand in North America.

Coach, a maker of handbags and other luxury goods, was among the losers. The company's stock fell $4.71, or 9.3 percent, to $45.71 after Coach said its earnings declined in the first three months of the year. Sales in North America came under pressure from competitors like Michael Kors.

The Commerce Department on Wednesday will issue the first of three estimates of how fast the U.S. economy grew in the January-March quarter. Economists say a slowdown last quarter, caused mainly by a severe winter, is likely giving way to stronger growth that should endure through the rest of the year.

And the Federal Reserve will release a statement after the conclusion of a two-day meeting. Most economists expect that the Fed will reduce its monthly bond purchases by another $10 billion, to $45 billion a month. The Fed's stimulus has helped underpin a five-year rally in stocks.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged from Monday at 2.70 percent. The price of oil rose 44 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $101.28 a barrel.

Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, gained 84 cents, or 11.3 percent, to $8.27 after it posted a loss smaller than Wall Street analysts had expected.