Upbeat earnings lift stock indexes

U.S. stock indexes returned to record highs Tuesday as corporate profits continued to come in better than analysts expected.

McDonald’s and Caterpillar were among the big companies that reported healthier-than-forecast results. Jumps in prices for oil, metals and other commodities helped lift companies that produce energy and raw materials. That more than offset losses for healthcare firms and stocks that pay big dividends, which were hurt by a rise in Treasury yields.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, the Nasdaq composite and the the Russell 2000 index rose to record highs.

Leading the way were energy stocks, which benefited from a second strong day for the price of oil. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.55, or 3.3%, to $47.89 a barrel. Brent crude climbed $1.60, or 3.3%, to $50.20 a barrel.

Energy stocks in the S&P 500 climbed 1.3%, tied for the biggest gain among the 11 sectors that make up the index. Devon Energy rose 3.9% to $32.98. Marathon Oil rose 3.9% to $12.34.

Financial stocks also were strong after a pickup in interest rates raised expectations that banks could charge more for loans and pocket bigger profits. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.32% from 2.26%.

The rise in yields came as the Federal Reserve began a two-day policy meeting on interest rates. The central bank has raised rates three times since December, but few investors expect it to announce another hike Wednesday. Most expect the next rate increase to come later this year.

Technology stocks have been the year’s biggest stars so far, but tech firms in the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% on Tuesday after several of them reported results that fell short of expectations.

On the opposite side was Caterpillar, which jumped 5.9% to $114.54 after reporting better quarterly results than expected. It also raised its forecast for full-year revenue and profit.

McDonald’s rose 4.8% to $159.07 after its quarterly revenue and earnings beat Wall Street’s forecast. The burger chain has been drawing in customers with premium burgers and $1 sodas.

Barnes & Noble soared 16.9% to $8.30 after Sandell Asset Management said it had taken a stake in the book retailer and was urging it to go private.

Natural gas rose 5 cents to $2.94 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil rose 5 cents to $1.57 a gallon and wholesale gasoline rose 4 cents to $1.60 a gallon.

Copper jumped 11 cents, or 4%, to $2.85 a pound. Silver rose 10 cents to $16.54 an ounce. Gold slipped $2.20 to $1,252.10 an ounce.

The euro rose to $1.1652 from $1.1645. The dollar rose to 111.89 yen from 111.11 yen.