Wall Street Caps Turbulent Day With Solid Gains

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After a volatile trading session, U.S. equity markets posted solid gains on the back of strong earnings from Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 89.3 points, or 0.55%, to 16263, the S&P 500 advanced 12.4 points, or 0.68%, to 1843 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 11.5 points, or 0.29%, to 4034.

Corporate earnings season is revving up. Citigroup (NYSE:C) logged a first-quarter beat on Monday. Ahead of the opening bell Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) posted stronger-than-expected results on the top and bottom lines, while Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) revealed quarterly profits that beat views, coupled with sales that matched views.

Chipmaker Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and online media firm Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) are set to unveil their quarterly results after the close of trading in New York.

The economic docket was quite full on the day as well.

The Labor Department reported prices for consumer goods rose 0.2% in March, slightly topping Wall Street views of a 0.1% increase. Excluding the food and energy components, prices rose by the same margin, also above estimates of 0.1%.The Federal Reserve has been working hard to boost inflation, so the data are expected to take on increased emphasis.

The New York Federal Reserve’s gauge of manufacturing activity fell to 1.29 in April, compared to 5.61 in March. Economists expected the metric to rise to 8. Readings above 0 point to expansion, while those below indicate contraction.

The National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder sentiment rose to 47 in April, from 46 in March, coming in below Wall Street estimates of 50.

Ukraine is once again garnering headlines. There were several news reports that Ukrainian military troops moved into an Eastern Ukrainian town called Kramatorsk, where pro-Russian militants had been reported as having taken various buildings in recent days.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures fell 97 cents, or 0.93%, to $103.08 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.71% to $3.017 a gallon. Gold dropped $23.90, or 1.8%, to $1,303 a troy ounce.