Tuesday's early trade: Dow Jones, S&P move higher

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes rose on Tuesday, lifted by upbeat corporate earnings reports that eased concerns over the fallout from the US-China trade war, but a decline in shares of Facebook hurt the Nasdaq. The benchmark S&P 500 index, which continued to hold above 3,000 points, was within striking distance of a record high hit in July, with Biogen Inc's 26.5% surge also boosting the index. The drugmaker announced a surprise plan to file for US regulatory approval for its Alzheimer's treatment.

"I think the fact that we are encroaching on record territory in the face of all these issues speaks to the resilience of the domestic economy and more importantly the companies in the US," said Mike Loewengart, vice president, investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial Corp. The wider healthcare index clocked the biggest increase among the major S&P 500 sectors.

Strong corporate earnings since last week have provided some respite to equity markets, which were rattled over the past few months by geopolitical worries and a slowing global economy. Of the 98 S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far, over 80% of them topped Street estimates. Still, analysts project the first earnings contraction since 2016.

Procter & Gamble Co gained 3.8%, after raising full-year forecasts and beating Wall Street estimates. Harley-Davidson Inc jumped 5.6% after beating quarterly profit expectations, while United Technologies Corp gained 1% on a forecast raise. Shares of McDonald's Corp slipped 3.4% and Travelers Cos Inc fell 7.1% on poor results.

At 11:31 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 38.36 points, or 0.14%, at 26,866.00, while the S&P 500 was up 2.77 points, or 0.09%, at 3,009.49. The Nasdaq Composite was down 17.65 points, or 0.22%, at 8,145.33. Pressuring the index was a 2% decline in shares of Facebook Inc.