Stocks gained Tuesday, rising for the third consecutive session, as investors welcomed some quarterly profit reports that were not as bad as had been expected. Investors also welcomed Timothy Geithner's approval as U.S. Treasury secretary late Monday, raising confidence that the Obama administration's $825 billion economic stimulus package could win approval despite Republican opposition. The Federal Reserve (Fed) began its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, and the central bank is expected to keep short-term interest rates near zero. The day's economic news was negative. More U.S. corporations on Tuesday announced significant job cuts, U.S. consumer confidence fell to another record low, and U.S. home prices fell by the biggest annual amount on record. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery tumbled $4.15 to $41.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. dollar gained versus the euro and fell versus the yen. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 58.70, or 0.7 percent, to 8,174.73. American Express reported lower quarterly sales and profits, but investors were relieved that the results were not weaker. Shares gained 8 percent. Other Dow financial stocks rallied, including Citigroup and Bank of America. DuPont reported a worse-than-expected quarterly loss and cut its 2009 profit forecast. Shares of the chemical giant were little changed. Verizon Communications reported higher quarterly sales and profits but said that growth in its businesses continued to slow. Its shares fell 6 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.14, or 1.1 percent, to 845.71. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 15.44, or 1 percent, to 1,504.90. Texas Instruments reported a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit and announced job cuts. Its shares gained nearly 5 percent. Netflix reported higher quarterly revenue, and shares of the online movie-rental firm jumped 16 percent. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 70.83 to 5,315.44. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 11.18 to 1,399.56. And the Russell 2000 index rose 5.52 to 455.58.
