US stocks finished higher on Tuesday as investors welcomed better-than-expected housing report and mostly upbeat corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.16 points, or 0.53%, to finish at 12,266.75. The S&P 500 added 7.48 points, or 0.57%, to close at 1,312.62. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 9.59 points, or 0.35%, to 2,744.97.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that housing starts rose 7.2% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000. Building Permits climbed 11.2% to annual rate of 694,000. Economists expected housing starts to increase to an annual rate of 520,000.
Shares of Citigroup (NYSE: C) rallied 11 cents, or 2.49%, to close at $4.53.
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) said Tuesday that its first quarter profit dropped to $2.7 billion, or $1.56 per share , from $3.3 billion, or $5.59 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Excluding the preferred dividend of $1.64 billion related to the redemption of the firm's Series G Preferred Stock, earnings per share were $4.38 for the first quarter of 2011. Revenue declined to $11.89 billion from $12.78 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 82 cents per share on revenue of $10.18 billion. Shares of Goldman Sachs fell $1.92, or 1.25%, to $151.86.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) said Tuesday that its first quarter profit dropped to $3.5 billion, or $1.25 from $4.53 billion, or $1.62 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.35 a share in the latest quarter. Revenue rose to $16.2 billion from $15.63 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $1.26 per share on revenue of $15.83 billion. The company raised its earnings guidance for full-year 2011 to $4.90 to $5.00 per share, reflecting both currency exchange rate changes and recent developments in the business. Shares of the healthcare giant rose $2.23, or 3.69%, to $62.69.
Seagate Technology Plc (NYSE: STX) said Tuesday that its fiscal third-quarter profit dropped to $93 million, or 21 cents a share, from $518 million, or $1 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 25 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue decreased to $2.70 billion from $3.05 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 27 cents per share on revenue of $2.66 billion. Seagate shares rose 9 cens, or 0.50%, to $17.93.
Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) reported Tuesday that its first-quarter profit surged to $119.3 million, or 51 cents a share, from $33.3 million, or 14 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose to $1.06 billion from $1.04 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 53 cents per share on revenue of $1.05 billion. Shares of the company slumped $2.10, or 5.29%, to $37.61.
European stocks closed up. The UK FTSE rose 26.79 points, or 0.46% to 5,896.87. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.18% and 0.70% respectively.
Asian stocks finished lower. The Nikkei 225 fell 62.40 points, or 0.65%, to 9,591.52. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong declined 5.93 points, or 0.02%, to 24,008.07.
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