By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday as investors put aside worries about recession for now and soaked in the message from another slew of earnings reports.
At 2:55 PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 675 points, or 2.2%, while the S&P 500 rose 2.5% and the NASDAQ Composite rose 2.8%.
Investors are listening carefully to what companies say about how they are grappling with higher costs and ongoing supply challenges and how consumer behavior is shifting after persistently high inflation. So far, more than half of the companies that have reported have beaten expectations.
Stocks were rallying on Monday until a report about Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) slowing hiring and spending next year because of economic uncertainty threw a damper on investor enthusiasm. But the S&P is climbing back above a technical level – 3900 – that could be the threshold for further gains, analysts said. By early afternoon Tuesday, the S&P had reached 3928.
Housing starts in June fell to their lowest since September after sliding in May as demand eases off from a pandemic boom. Rising mortgage rates and record-high prices for homes have pushed many would-be buyers to the sidelines for now.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) shares rose nearly 3% after a Delaware Chancery Court judge said the social media company could fast-track its lawsuit against Elon Musk, setting a trial date in October. Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), had wanted a trial postponed to February to give him more time to examine data on Twitter's fake accounts. Musk, who bid $44 billion for Twitter, has said recently the lack of information on fake accounts is a reason for scuttling the deal.
International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) shares fell 6.7% after the company reported better than expected earnings but trimmed its estimate for free cash flow this year because of its exit from Russia and the strong dollar.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) shares fell 0.7% after the military contractor said sales of fighter jets fell and it lowered its 2022 targets for revenue and earnings.
Oil rose. Crude Oil WTI Futures rose 1% to $100 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude rose 1% to $107 a barrel. Gold Futures was flat at $1,708 an ounce.