NEW YORK — The stock market got a shot of confidence from the start of second-quarter earnings season.
Investors sent stocks sharply higher Tuesday after better- than-expected profits from aluminum maker Alcoa and railroad operator CSX.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 145 points for its sixth straight gain, and the major indexes were up well over 1 percent.
There was more good news from Intel after the close of trading. The chip-maker reported earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations, and it raised its forecast for the year. Its stock shot up more than 5 percent in after-hours trades.
The companies, among the first to report second-quarter earnings, also issued upbeat forecasts for the rest of the year.
That was heartening for investors, who have been concerned that the recovery was stalling or that the economy might fall back into recession.
“When we go back to earnings and fundamentals, companies are delivering,” said Tom Karsten, senior managing partner at Karsten Financial in Fort Worth, Texas.
Alcoa’s earnings reports are closely watched because its varied customer base provides a snapshot of a broad range of other industries. CSX also provides insight into economic activity because it ships a wide range of products. And Intel’s results are considered a good gauge of the health of the economy because its sales are driven by computer buyers.
The Dow rose 146.75, 1.4 percent, to 10,363.02. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 16.59, 1.5 percent, to 1,095.34, while the Nasdaq composite rose 43.67, 2 percent, to 2,242.03.
Stocks had sold off in May and June because of worries that the economy was slowing. Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Burns Advisory Group in Oklahoma City, said investors were selling as they tried to predict how much a slowdown in the economy would affect earnings. However, Courtney said, the sell-off went too far, which has helped the market in recent days.
