US stocks move mostly higher; Merck leads a rebound in the health care sector

Stocks are moving mostly higher as the health care sector rebounds from a slump the day before.

Drugmaker Merck jumped 5 percent in midday trading Tuesday, the most in the Dow Jones industrial average, after reporting earnings and revenue that came in well ahead of what analysts were looking for.

The Container Store plunged 15 percent after releasing earnings that were far below estimates. It also issued a disappointing forecast.

The Dow rose 46 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,082 as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,111. The Nasdaq composite rose three points, less than 0.1 percent, to 5,063.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.95 percent.