Stocks Ended Higher on Earnings Beats

U.S. stocks ended near session highs on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke finished speaking and Wall Street’s gaze returned to solid results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) and Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO). The Dow Jones industrial average was up 78.33 points, or 0.62 percent, at 12,805.54. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 10.03 points, or 0.74 percent, at 1,363.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13.10 points, or 0.45 percent, at 2,910.04.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sketched out for members of Congress on Tuesday the weaker economic outlook and stressed that the central bank was prepared to take further action to try to give the recovery a jolt. Bernanke said that the reduction in the unemployment rate will likely be “frustratingly slow.”

Goldman posted a profit of $962 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of $1.09 billion. Earnings per share–reflecting the payment of preferred dividends–fell to $1.78 from $1.85 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $1.16 a share. Net revenue fell 9% to $6.63 billion. Analysts expected $6.28 billion in revenue.

Coca-Cola Co.’s (NYSE:KO) second-quarter earnings slipped 0.4% on higher costs, though increased unit case volume contributed to stronger-than- expected revenue growth. Coca-Cola reported a profit of $2.79 billion, or $1.21 a share, down from $2.8 billion, or $1.20 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 2.7% to $13.09 billion.

Yahoo Inc (YHOO) reported flat net revenue and a slight decline in profit during the second quarter. Yahoo’s second-quarter net income was $226.6 million, or 18 cents a share, down slightly from roughly $237 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year ago period. Net revenue was $1.081 billion in the three months ended June 30, compared to $1.076 billion at this time last year.

Intel Corp.’s INTC +0.99%second-quarter profit fell 4.3% despite an increase in revenue as the chip maker logged a jump in operating expenses. Intel reported a profit of $2.83 billion, down from $2.95 billion a year earlier. Revenue improved 3.6% to $13.5 billion, in line with the company’s previous guidance of $13.1 billion to $14.1 billion.