U. S. stocks started higher on Tuesday, with Wall Street looking for a third straight day of gains as strong earnings improved sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average lately was up 120.21 points, or 0.83 percent, at 14,687.38. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 12.62 points, or 0.81 percent, at 1,575.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 28.76 points, or 0.89 percent, at 3,262.31.
Chemicals maker DuPont’s (DD) quarterly profit more than doubled as the worst dry spell in decades encouraged U.S. farmers to buy its drought-hardy seeds and crop-protection products to boost yields. The company’s net income for the quarter, which included the beginning of the North American spring planting season, jumped to $3.35
billion, or $3.58 per share, in the first quarter, from $1.49 billion, or $1.58 per share, a year earlier. Fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations dipped to $1.47 from $1.48, a year earlier.
Coach Inc. (COH) shares jumped 12% in premarket trading after it reported a better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter profit and North American same-store sales turned positive. The company also raised its cash dividend by 15 cents a share annually.
Travelers Cos.’s (TRV) boosted its dividend Tuesday as the property-casualty company’s first-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, helped by fewer natural disasters and its ongoing effort to raise prices. Net income of $896 million, or $2.33 a share, rose 11% from $806 million, or $2.02 a share, in last year’s first quarter.
The price of oil slipped below $89 a barrel Tuesday after a slowdown in China’s manufacturing reinforced concerns over the level of demand in the global economy. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for June delivery was down 73 cents to $88.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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