U.S. Stock Indexes Veer Higher in Morning Trading; Oil Slides

Technology and industrial companies led U.S. stocks modestly higher in morning trading Tuesday as indexes bounced back from small losses the day before. Energy stocks lagged the most as the price of crude oil headed lower. Investors were sizing up earnings reports from General Motors, Michael Kors and other big companies.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 90 points, or 0.5 percent, to 20,142 as of 11:11 a.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 6 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,298. The Nasdaq composite index added 24 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,687. The Dow and Nasdaq were trading above their latest all-time highs.

THE QUOTE: More than half of the companies in the S&P 500 index have reported quarterly results so far, and more than 60 percent have posted earnings that beat financial analysts’ estimates, noted Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

“We haven’t seen a lot of earnings growth in the past several quarters, so the market is excited to see that,” Davidson said.

NOT A SHOCK: Emerson Electric surged 4.9 percent after posting better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and sales. The company — which makes process controls systems, valves and analytical instruments — also raised its estimates for the rest of the year. The stock rose $2.92 to $62.78.

HEALTHY QUARTER: Centene climbed 5.3 percent after the health insurer’s latest quarterly snapshot exceeded Wall Street’s estimates. The stock added $3.39 to $67.02.

UNFASHIONABLE RESULTS: Michael Kors slumped 12.8 percent after the luxury retailer reported lower fiscal third-quarter earnings and sales. The company also gave weak guidance for the current quarter and cut its estimates for the year. The stock slid $5.28 to $36.

DRIVE MY CAR: General Motors fell 4.4 percent after the automaker said its earnings declined in the fourth quarter as costs increased. The stock gave up $1.62 to $35.21.

ROUGH RIDE: YRC Worldwide was down 7.7 percent after the trucking company reported a weak revenue measure. The stock slid $1.15 to $13.87.

COSTLY TECH: Sabre tumbled 11.2 percent after the travel industry technology provider issued a forecast for 2017 that fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. The company noted that increased investments in IT and other parts of its business will cut into its bottom line. The stock shed $2.79 to $22.02.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.5 percent, while France’s CAC 40 was 0.4 percent lower. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.5 percent. Stock indexes in Asia were mixed. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.4 percent, while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.1 percent. Seoul’s Kospi slid 0.1 percent, while India’s Sensex shed 0.6 percent.

TREASURY YIELDS: Bond prices rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.40 percent from 2.41 percent late Monday.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 77 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $52.24 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, was off 66 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $55.06 in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 112.16 yen from 111.83 on Monday. The euro fell to $1.0685 from $1.0748.