US stocks shrug off fake tweet, gain 1%

In this April 16, 2013, photo, Trader Richard Newman, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. US stocks finished up more than one percent Tuesday, April23, 2013, despite a two-minute mini-crash due to a false news agency tweet, with good earnings results from DuPont, Travelers and Netflix. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK—US stocks finished up more than one percent Tuesday despite a two-minute mini-crash due to a false news agency tweet, with good earnings results from DuPont, Travelers and Netflix.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 152.29 (1.05 percent) at 14,719.46.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 16.28 (1.04 percent) at 1,578.78, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 35.78 (1.11 percent) to 3,269.33.

The market spent most of the day in positive territory, save for a brief plunge after a bogus Twitter message from a hacked Associated Press account said there were two explosions at the White House and President Barack Obama had been injured.

The Associated Press almost immediately announced it had been hacked and the message was false.

Stock markets plunged just as the report came out, with the Dow losing 130 points, or 0.9 percent, and the S&P 500 dropping 12 points, or 0.8 percent.

Within a few minutes, they rebounded to where they were before the message appeared.

Markets overlooked weak economic reports from China and the eurozone, instead focusing on solid corporate earnings.

Dow member DuPont jumped 4.1 percent after net income more than doubled compared with the year-ago period.

United Technologies, another Dow component, dipped 0.8 percent despite reporting higher profits compared with last year.

The Travelers Companies, another Dow component, put on 2.1 percent after earnings rose by more than 11 percent in the quarter.

Other insurers also gained. AIG put on 5.2 percent and MetLife rose 5.5 percent.

Netflix soared 24.4 percent after announcing it swung into profit in the first quarter compared with a year ago.

Banking firms had a good day. Bank of America rose 3.0 percent, JPMorgan Chase added 1.7 percent and Citigroup jumped 2.9 percent.

Upscale accessories and handbag retailer Coach soared 9.8 percent after reporting higher earnings and announcing a higher dividend.

Apple leaped 5.5 percent in after-hours trading after reporting its first drop in profit in almost 10 years. The board of the technology giant approved a $100 billion share buyback by 2015.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held flat at 1.70 percent, the same level as Monday, while the 30-year bond edged up to 2.89 percent from 2.88 percent. Bond prices move inversely to yields.