Stocks up; investors focus on earnings

Wall Street managed a moderate advance Wednesday as investors concentrated on solid second-quarter earnings and shrugged off higher oil prices and a drop in petroleum reserves.

Investors were anticipating more good earnings news after Harley-Davidson Inc. and Abbott Laboratories released strong quarterly results.

“Earnings are very good, corporations are flush with cash and we’re seeing more dividend increases occurring,” said Joe Lisanti, editor of Standard & Poor’s weekly newsletter, the Outlook. “We’re going to see more investors pleased with their returns.”

Stocks briefly gave up some early gains after the Energy Department reported that crude oil and gasoline supplies declined again last week. Some production in the Gulf of Mexco was disrupted due to Tropical Storm Cindy and Hurricane Dennis.

A barrel of light crude closed at $60.01, down 61 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 43.50, or 0.41 percent, to 10,557.39,

Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 1.08, or 0.09 percent, to 1,223.29 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.96, or 0.04 percent, to 2,144.11.

Bonds fell, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.16 percent from 4.14 percent late Tuesday. The dollar fell against the euro, while gold prices were unchanged.

Stocks had opened higher on news that the U.S. trade deficit improved slightly in May, although most of the gains reflected a temporary decline in world oil prices. The trade deficit fell by 2.7 percent in May to $55.3 billion, the best showing since March, the Commerce Department reported.

Although stocks closed up, they continue to trade in a narrow range because “this is the very beginning of earnings reporting season. It’s not surprising, given the flat market we’ve had, that people want to wait and see how the first earnings reports look before they commit dollars,” said Susan L. Malley, chief investment officer for Malley Associates Capital Management.

Declining issues led advancers by nearly 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.35 billion shares, down from 1.45 billion at the same time Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.14, or 0.47 percent, to 667.65.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average was down 0.28 percent. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.55 percent, France’s CAC-40 was up 0.69 percent for the session, and Germany’s DAX index was up 0.58 percent in late trading.