Stocks Lifted by Europe Report

U.S. stocks surged into the close Tuesday, helped by a news report that Germany and France are moving closer to resolving the European debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 180.05 points, or 1.58%, to 11,577.05. The S&P  500 added 24.52 points, or 2.04%, to 1,225.38. The Nasdaq Composite gained 42.51 points, or 1.63%, to 2,657.43.

The Guardian newspaper reported Tuesday that France and Germany have agreed to expand a rescue fund. European officials are expected to take up the expansion along with other measures at a meeting this weekend.

Intel Corp. on Tuesday reported a third-quarter profit of $3.47 billion, or 65 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.96 billion, or 52 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue was $14.23 billion, up from $11.1 billion.

Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of $293 million, or 23 cents a share, on revenue, excluding the costs of acquiring traffic, of $1.07 billion.

Apple Inc. reported a 54% gain in net income for its fourth fiscal quarter on Tuesday afternoon, though the company managed to miss Wall Street’s estimates for the period thanks mostly to lower-than-expected sales of the iPhone. For the quarter ended Sept. 24, Apple reported net income of $6.62 billion, or $7.05 per share, compared to net income of $4.31 billion, or $4.64 per share, for the same period the previous year. Revenue jumped 39% to $28.27 billion.

The Coca-Cola Co. `s third-quarter profit rose 8 percent and beat Wall Street estimates. et income rose to $2.22 billion, or 95 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. That’s up from $2.06 billion, or 88 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding one-time items, it earned $1.03 per share. Revenue rose 45 percent to $12.25 billion.