Stocks Opened Higher as Earnings Season Kicked Off

U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, as a first-quarter corporate earnings reporting season kicked off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 495.28 points, or 2.12%, to 23,886.05. The S&P 500 gained 58.69 points, or 2.13%, to 2,820.32. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 192.28 points, or 2.35%, to 8,384.70.

Oil futures lost ground Tuesday, weighed down by a global glut of crude created by the hit to demand from the COVID-19 pandemic. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery fell 53 cents, or 2.2%, to $21.88 a barrel, while June Brent crude was off 19 cents, or 0.8%, at $31.55 a barrel.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, (JPM) reported first-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations, hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, but beat on net interest income and saw strong growth in equity and fixed income markets revenue. Net income fell to $2.87 billion, or 78 cents a share, from $9.18 billion, or $2.65 a share, in the year-ago period. Total revenue fell to $29.07 billion from $29.85 billion.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported first-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations and boosted its dividend, offsetting a downbeat full-year outlook. Net income rose to $5.80 billion, or $2.17 a share, from $3.75 billion, or $1.39 a share, from a year ago. Revenue grew 3.3% to $20.69 billion.