NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average extended its push past 11,000 Tuesday after expectations grew that stronger corporate earnings would signal that a recovery is on track.
Stocks fell in early trading after quarterly results from aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. missed expectations.
Major indexes later poked higher as traders jockeyed for position ahead of earnings from leading chip maker Intel Corp., which reported strong results after the closing bell.
The results from Alcoa brought a disappointing start to the flow of earnings reports from the January-March quarter. But analysts said the company's performance didn't provide a good indication of how other companies would do.
The mood could brighten today following Intel's report. The company said its first-quarter profit nearly quadrupled from a year earlier when it booked a big loss on an investment.
Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust in Chicago, said earnings reports are likely to top expectations because few companies have warned their results will miss forecasts.
"If we continue with this pace, at the end of the second quarter, we will be at a new all-time high for earnings for the U.S. economy," he said. "That's a pretty stunning achievement."
The stock market has been rising for 13 months on signs that the economy is improving. On Monday, the Dow finished above the psychological benchmark of 11,000 for the first time in a year and a half.
The Dow rose 13.45, or 0.1 percent, to 11,019.42, its highest close since September 2008. It has risen four straight days and is up 10 of the past 13 days. The S&P 500 index rose 0.82, or 0.1 percent, to 1,197.30, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 8.12, or 0.3 percent, to 2,465.99.
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