Positive earnings surprises from Priceline and others send US stocks higher in early trade

U.S. stocks are rising in early trading, shaking off a three-day slump, as the latest round of company earnings news brought several positive surprises. Strong results from First Solar and Priceline sent their shares higher.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 13 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,106 as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 57 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,602 and the Nasdaq rose 43 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,149.

HERE COMES THE SUN: First Solar soared 17 percent following news that the country's largest solar company turned in results that beat estimates and also raised its outlook for full-year profits. Revenue climbed 65 percent in the quarter thanks to more income from its Silver State South plant in Nevada and the sale of stakes in two projects. First Solar's stock jumped $7.17 to $51.67.

TRAVELLING UP: Priceline Group climbed 5 percent after the online-booking service posted profit and revenue that easily beat analysts' forecasts, helped by rising reservations for hotel rooms and rental cars. Its stock gained $65.70 to $1,349.76.

JOBS: Payroll processor ADP reported that companies added 185,000 jobs in July, a drop from the previous month. Investors often look to the ADP survey for clues to the Labor Department's monthly report on the job market, which is due out on Friday. Economists forecast that it will show employers added 225,000 workers in July and that the unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent.

CRUDE: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 40 cents to $46.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It's still down 2 percent this week following a steep fall on Monday.

EUROPE: Germany's DAX advanced 1.4 percent, France's CAC 40 rose 1.5 percent, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.8 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: In China, the Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent, South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4 percent.

BONDS: U.S. government bond price fell, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 2.29 percent from 2.22 percent.