US stocks mostly higher after mixed earnings

Trader Sal Suarino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher Tuesday following mixed corporate earnings news and slightly disappointing US retail sales in March. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK–Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher Tuesday following mixed corporate earnings news and slightly disappointing US retail sales in March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.66 points (0.33 percent) to 18,036.70.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 3.41 (0.16 percent) at 2,095.84, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 10.96 (0.22 percent) to 4,977.29.

Earnings from large banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo exceeded expectations.

But analysts said a lower profit forecast from health-care giant Johnson & Johnson due to the strong dollar underscored fears that the greenback will dent multinationals’ earnings reports in the coming weeks.

US retail sales rebounded in March from a three-month slump, rising 0.9 percent, slightly below the consensus estimate of 1.0 percent.

Dow member JPMorgan tacked on 1.6 percent as first-quarter net income rose 12.2 percent to $5.9 billion behind strong investment banking and trading results.

Johnson & Johnson, another Dow member, was flat after trimming its full-year profit forecast due to the strong dollar. First-quarter net income translated into $1.56 per share, two cents above expectations.

Freight railroad Norfolk Southern dropped 4.2 percent following a warning that first-quarter earnings are expected to be 15 percent below last year’s due to lower revenues, in part from a decline in coal volumes.

Google fell 1.6 percent as The Wall Street Journal reported that European antitrust regulators plan to press charges against the tech giant.

Oil stocks pushed higher on rallying crude prices. Dow members ExxonMobil and Chevron rose 1.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, while drilling company Transocean advanced 4.9 percent.

Online real estate company Zillow dropped 1.4 percent after warning that 2015 would be a “transition year” following a large acquisition of rival Trulia. Zillow projected 2015 sales of $690 million, well below the $753 million market estimate.

Cosmetics company Avon shot up 14.2 percent on reports it is considering the sale of its North American unit.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.90 percent from 1.94 percent, while the 30-year fell to 2.54 percent from 2.58 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.