The Dow edged up on Tuesday as a drop of about $4.50 in oil prices added to positive sentiment from Caterpillar's strong earnings, offsetting declines in tech shares, including Apple. US front-month crude declined about 3.5 percent, to $126.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as the US dollar rose and supply concerns caused by Tropical Storm Dolly abated.
Shares of Apple, maker of the iPod and iPhone, were the top drag on both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, after the company said late on Monday its current-quarter earnings will be well below Wall Street's targets. "You see crude oil down, and I think that's a stimulus to the broad stock market. You also see the dollar up," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills, New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 31.84 points, or 0.28 percent, at 11,499.18. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.12 point, or 0.01 percent, at 1,260.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 4.72 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,274.81. Coca-Cola shares gained 3.6 percent to $51.39 on the New York Stock Exchange while Wal-Mart rose 2.9 percent to $58.95. Caterpillar shares rose about 1 percent to $73.88 after the maker of heavy construction equipment posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.
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