Strong corporate earnings push stock market higher
BY Staff and Wire Reports
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
4/25/12 at 2:01 AM
Muscular corporate earnings propelled stocks higher Tuesday.
Five of the 30 big companies that make up the Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 1.5 percent. AT&T led the gains after reporting better-than-expected profit. Verizon, AT&T's main rival, was close behind. 3M rose sharply after delivering an impressive quarterly report. GE and DuPont rounded out the list of top gainers.
The Dow closed up 74.39 points, or 0.6 percent, at 13,001.56.
Earnings reports are blowing the tops off analysts' expectations, providing temporary relief for markets roiled by fears about Europe, said Sam Stovall of data firm S&P Capital IQ.
