Stocks Rose and Extended a Recent Rally

U.S. stocks rose and extended a recent rally on Tuesday, as Wall Street embraced the view of a still-improving economy. The Dow  Jones industrial average lately rose 94.12 points, or 0.62 percent, to 15,185.80. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 13.81 points, or 0.85 percent, to 1,647.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 19.79 points, or 0.58 percent, to 3,458.58.

The total amount of debt held by Americans fell again in the first three months of the year and stood at the lowest level since the middle of 2006, the New York Federal Reserve said Tuesday. Household debt is now 11.4% lower versus a peak of $12.68 trillion in 2008.

Microsoft Corp’s forthcoming update to its personal computer operating system will be called Windows 8.1 and will be available later this year free to existing Windows 8 customers, the marketing chief for the Windows unit said on Tuesday.

BlackBerry announced plans on Tuesday to offer its popular instant messaging system on rival devices and introduced a new mid- tier smartphone targeted at countries where its faded brand remains strong.