WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. stocks ended on a firm note on Tuesday,
extending gains from previous session, with technology shares once again
outperforming others, amid optimism about earnings.

A batch of encouraging earnings updates, and slightly easing concerns about the
outlook for interest rates helped underpin sentiment.

The major averages all ended notably higher. The Dow settled with a gain of
263.71 points or 0.69 percent at 38,503.69. The S&P 500 climbed 59.95 points or
1.2 percent to 5,070.55, while the Nasdaq gained 245.33 points or 1.59 percent
to settle at 15,696.64.

Several technology heavyweights such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms are
scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings this week.

Other big names including Boeing, Intel, American Airlines, Chevron and Exxon
Mobil are also slated to report their quarterly earnings during the course of
this week.

Verizon rallied about 3.5 percent. American Express climbed 2.5 percent, while
Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, Walt Disney, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase and IBM ended
higher by 1.3 to 2 percent.

Netflix, Palo Alto Networks, Nvidia, Illumina, Moderna and Microchip Technology
ended sharply higher.

Tesla Inc. reported a few minutes after the closing bell that its total earnings
totaled $1.13 billion, or $0.34 per share in the first quarter. This compares
with $2.51 billion, or $0.73 per share, in last year's first quarter. Excluding
items, Tesla Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $1.54 billion or $0.45 per share
for the period.

Globe Life soared 13.5 percent, topping the list of gainers in the S&P 500
index. Danaher and GE Aerospace surged on strong results. Kimberly-Clark and
General Motors also ended sharply higher.

Walmart drifted down 2.3 percent. Boeing ended down nearly 1 percent. Invesco
and Pepsico also ended sharply lower, with the latter dropping on somewhat
disappointing quarterly results.

In economic news, the S&P Global US Composite PMI declined to 50.9 in April from
52.1 in the previous month, signaling only a slight expansion in the country's
private sector, which was the softest since December, a preliminary estimate
showed.

The S&P Global Flash US Manufacturing PMI fell to a four-month low of 49.9 in
April 2024, from 52.0 in March. The reading was expected to come in at 52.0. The
S&P Global US Services PMI dropped to a five-month low of 50.9 in April.

A report released by the Commerce Department showed new home sales spiked by 8.8
percent to an annual rate of 693,000 in March after plunging by 5.1 percent to a
revised rate of 637,000 in February.

Economists had expected new home sales to rise to an annual rate of 668,000 from
the 662,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Building permits fell by 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
1.467 million in March 2024, revised from a preliminary estimate of 1.458
million. This follows a 2.3 percent increase in February.

Traders await more economic data this week, including the release of
first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core personal-consumption
expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed's preferred measure of
inflation.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a
mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by
0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets closed higher on the day. While the German DAX Index
surged 1.55 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.81 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE
100 ended higher by 0.26 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures for June ended higher by $1.46 or
1.78% at $83.36 a barrel. Gold futures for April ended down by $4.50 or about
0.19% at $2,327.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar was trading at 154.82 yen compared to the
154.85 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the
euro, the dollar was at 1.0704, compared to yesterday's $1.0655.



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