Caterpillar, McDonald's, Goldman Contribute More Than Half Of Dow's 230-point Rally

The Dow Jones Industrial Average enjoyed a triple-digit rise, with the bulk of the advance coming from the top four of its 30 components. Shares of Caterpillar Inc. were contributing about 45 points, McDonald's Corp's rise added about 45 points, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shares of DuPont Inc. were each adding roughly 20 points to the blue-chip benchmark. The gains from that quartet make up more than half of the price-weighted Dow's 230-point rise in Tuesday action, and follow healthy quarterly reports from most of those names. Caterpillar DuPont {s: DD] and McDonald's reported quarterly results on Tuesday that topped Wall Street estimates. Goldman, meanwhile, reported results last week that disappointed investors' expectations, but the investment bank is benefiting from the anticipation of higher interest-rates ahead as improving economic sentiment bolsters expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates--a boon for bank shares. The S&P 500 index also was climbing, up 0.6%, at 2,388 and the Nasdaq Composite Index marked a milestone: surpassing the psychologically important level of 6,000 for the first time.