NEW YORK — Upbeat earnings from Deere & Co. and a better-than-expected housing report Wednesday pushed stocks higher in early trading.
Overseas markets also rose following improving earnings in Europe from companies including French bank BNP Paribas.
The report on housing construction and Deere’s results should keep traders focused on the U.S. economy for at least another day.
Investors turned their attention from concerns overseas to domestic growth Tuesday, and sent stocks sharply higher.
The Commerce Department said construction of new homes and apartments rose to an annual rate of 591,000 in January, better than the 580,000 units forecast by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
A collapse of the housing market helped push the economy into recession, but recent reports on the sector have showed some signs of stability. Applications for building permits, a barometer of future activity, fell 4.9 percent to a rate of 621,000. However, a decline was expected after two months of big growth.
The Federal Reserve also issued a promising economic report. The Fed said the production at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities rose 0.9 percent last month, the seventh consecutive month of growth. It was also better than the 0.6 percent growth forecast by economists.
In early morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 33.63, or 0.3 percent, to 10,302.44. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4.19, or 0.4 percent, to 1,099.06, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.82, or 0.4 percent, to 2,222.01.
Deere continued a run of strong earnings reports this week. The heavy equipment maker reported a much better than expected fiscal first-quarter profit, and raised its full-year earnings outlook.
Shares surged $3.51, or 6.5 percent, to $57.29.
Meanwhile, Walgreen Co. said it will purchase New York-area drugstore operator Duane Reade for about $623 million in cash.
Including $457 million in debt held by Duane Reade, the entire transaction is valued at $1.08 billion.
Investors will also get details later in the day about the Federal Reserve Board’s meeting last month.
Stocks rose sharply Tuesday after better-than-expected earnings from companies like Barclays PLC, Merck & Co. and Abercrombie & Fitch provided reassurances that the economy is improving.
Simon Property Group’s takeover bid of rival mall operator General Growth Properties also provided signs companies are getting more confident in a rebound.
Stocks had been dragged down in recent weeks because of overseas concerns — mainly worries about debt problems in Greece spreading and upending a recovery and China slowing down bank lending to prevent speculative bubbles. Those concerns appear to have eased somewhat, allowing investors to again focus on the domestic economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average soared nearly 170 points, or 1.7 percent, on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.8 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index jumped 1.4 percent.
