Stocks climb on strong earnings

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks climbed for the fourth straight day Tuesday as strong earnings continued to pull the market closer to the all-time high it set in late January.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8.05 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,858.45. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 126.73 points, or 0.5 percent, to 25,628.91. The Nasdaq composite gained 23.99 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,883.66. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks edged up 3.99 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,688.30.

The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high Jan. 26. After that, it dropped 10 percent in nine days as investors worried about signs that inflation was accelerating. That hasn’t materialized, but trade fears have weighed on the market since then.

Shares of industrial companies rose Tuesday, and banks moved higher as interest rates increased. Gains for Microsoft and Google’s parent company Alphabet helped technology companies.

Companies including Hertz, Etsy and Mosaic climbed after their results surpassed investors’ forecasts. Tesla shares surged after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said he might take the company private.

Gina Martin Adams, chief equity strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, said companies are reporting huge profit and revenue growth. That’s nudged concerns about trade tensions with China, Europe, Canada and Mexico out of investors’ minds.

“Very strong top line and bottom line growth from the vast majority of companies overwhelmed any fears that started to bubble up in June,” she said.

She said the tariffs that the U.S. and its trading partners have announced recently are still small and haven’t affected the broader market very much.

Shares of rental car company Hertz soared 24.6 percent to $19.53, its biggest gain in almost a decade. But even with that huge gain, the stock is still down 12 percent for the year.

A little more than four years ago, Hertz stock traded above $120 a share. It plunged as the company dealt with overcapacity in the rental car market and the value of its vehicles decreased. Hertz has changed CEOs twice in four years.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.98 percent from 2.95 percent. Banks and financial companies also climbed as interest rates rose.

Dental products maker Dentsply cut its forecasts and took a $1.26 billion charge connected to its technology and equipment business. The company said sales and profit margins have been weaker than expected and it plans to restructure its business. The stock dropped 18.7 percent to $39.41.

Online real estate marketplace Zillow cut its revenue forecast for the year and also said it’s buying Mortgage Lenders of America. Terms weren’t disclosed. The stock fell 14.8 percent to $49.56.

Weight Watchers International sank 14.8 percent to $78.53. The weight loss company raised its forecasts for the year, but said it lost subscribers in the second quarter.

U.S. crude oil rose 0.2 percent to $69.17 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, rose 1.2 percent to $74.65 a barrel in London.