Stocks Opened Higher after Upbeat Corporate Earnings

U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, following a round of better than expected corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 110.06 points, or 0.42%, to 26,494.83. The S&P 500 added 8.18 points, or 0.28%, to 2,913.76. The Nasdaq Composite gained 25.96 points, or 0.33%, to 8,001.97.

Oil futures put in a mixed performance Tuesday as investors looked ahead to data on U.S. crude inventories and kept an ear out for any hints from OPEC and its allies on the fate of production cuts. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $63.52 a barrel. June Brent crude was flat at $71.18 a barrel.

Johnson & Johnson beat quarterly profit estimates on higher sales at its pharmaceuticals unit. J&J’s medical device unit, its second-largest business, reported a 4.6 percent fall in sales but beat analysts’ average estimate of $6.44 billion (£4.9 billion). Excluding items, the company earned $2.10 per share, beating analysts’ estimate of $2.03 per share.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) exceeded Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines for the first quarter and raised its full-year forecast for 2019 as the largest insurer in the country grew its customer base. The company sees full-year adjusted earnings per share between $14.50 to $14.75, from $14.40 to $14.70 previously. First-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.73 per share beat consensus estimates by 13 cents, while first-quarter revenue of $60.3 billion was higher than the $59.76 billion expected.

U.S. factory production stalled in March as motor-vehicle output declined, adding to signs of headwinds for manufacturing and economic growth around the world. Manufacturing output was unchanged from February after falling a revised 0.3 percent, Federal Reserve data showed Tuesday.