APRIL 14, 2010, 6:50 P.M. ET.

Earnings Push Stocks to Another Milestone

By PETER A. MCKAY

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its first triple-digit point gain in three weeks, and the Standard & Poor's 500 broke through a key round-number milestone thanks to the latest round of corporate earnings reports, which offered positive signals about the broader economy.

Traders welcomed J.P. Morgan Chase's report as a sign that the financial system is strong, brisk sales of Intel's chips suggested that businesses are buying equipment again, and CSX's strong results signaled strong demand to move goods to market. Each of those stocks jumped at least 3%, helping to push broader averages higher.


WSJ's Emma Moody joins the News Hub with insight on today's market rally.
.The Dow gained 103.61 points to end at 11123.03, its best point gain since March 5. The average's 0.9% gain for the day was its best performance in percentage terms since March 23, when it posted a 102.94-point gain.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average posted an even stronger gain in percentage terms, up 2.4%.

Nadsaq Composite Index was up 1.6%. The S&P 500 pierced the 1200 milestone for the first time since late September 2008, breaking through after narrow misses in each of the previous two sessions. The broad index ended up 1.1% at 1210.64, led by a 2.6% jump in its financial sector.

Though Alcoa got first-quarter earnings season got off to a lukewarm start on Monday, the last two days' reports have been more favorable, boosting investors' confidence that the U.S. recovery can sustain itself.

"We put so much emphasis on these first few reports every earnings season," said strategist Jim Paulsen, of Wells Capital Management. "I was a little surprised by what we saw from Alcoa, but what we're getting from the other companies now makes more sense based on the other data we've been getting," showing gradual but clear improvement in key economic yardsticks.


Intel's strong earnings report and outlook set the pace for broad gains across the technology sector. Also, Apple shares rise after the company says it will push back the overseas rollout of the iPad due to high demand in the U.S. MarketWatch's Rex Crum reports in San Francisco.
.That trend continued Wednesday as the Commerce Department said that retail sales rose 1.6% last month, the biggest gain in four months and above the 1.3% increase economists expected. Other economic reports showed a modest climb in consumer prices and an increase in business inventories.

In its beige book of regional economic indicators, the Federal Reserve was upbeat about the consumer spending, which represents more than two-thirds of gross domestic product in the U.S.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional committee the pace of the recovery this year will depend on if consumers spend and companies invest enough to make up for fading government support. Mr. Bernanke repeated the Fed's pledge to keep interest rates at a record low for an "extended period" to continue aiding the recovery.

The dollar weakened against both the euro and the yen, pushing the U.S. Dollar Index down 0.4%.

Treasury prices were mixed, with the two-year note flat, yielding 1.057%. The 10-year note fell 11/32, lifting its yield to 3.861%.

Crude-oil futures snapped a five-day losing streak, gaining $1.79 to end at $85.84 a barrel as government data revealed an unexpected drop in inventories. Gold futures also rose.

—Donna Kardos Yesalavich and Kristina Peterson contributed to this article.
Write to Peter A. McKay at peter.mckay@wsj.com

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