Stocks Edged Higher on Ford

U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, supported by earnings results from Ford Motor Co. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately added 77.90 points, or 0.49%, to 15,915.78. The S&P 500 was up 7.97 points, or 0.453%, to 1,789.53. The Nasdaq Composite gained 4.67 points, or 0.11%, to 4,088.28.
Sales of existing U.S. homes edged up slightly in December, helping to lift sales for the year to the highest level in seven years. Sales increased to an annual rate of 4.87 million units last month, up 1 percent from the November sales pace, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly fell in December as did a gauge of planned business spending on capital goods. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday durable goods orders dropped 4.3 percent.

Ford Motor Co on Tuesday posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit as higher earnings in the No. 2 U.S. automaker’s core North American market offset losses in Europe and South America. Net income in the fourth quarter rose to $3 billion, or 74 cents a share, compared with almost $1.6 billion, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier.