Stocks End Up as Bargain Hunters Step In

The U.S. stock market closed with modest gains on Tuesday, as it looks to rebound from its worst start to February since 1933.The Dow Average rose 72.44 points, or 0.47%, at 15,445.24. The S&P 500 was up 13.31 points, or 0.76% at 1,755.20. The Nasdaq Composite gained 34.56 points, or 0.86%, at 4,031.52.

Gannett Co. said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income dropped 12 percent. It earned $90.7 million, or 39 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 29. That was down from $103.1 million, or 44 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2012.

Big banks and retailers played the blame game Tuesday as the heads of both industries tried to shift the responsibility over a series of big breaches in consumer data that left millions of Americans exposed to online theft.

The U.S. Treasury Department took a first step Tuesday to avoid breaching the government’s debt ceiling once the suspension of the borrowing limit is lifted Friday.