U.S. stock indexes rose on Tuesday, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high, as Wall Street embraced the start of first-quarter earnings. “The fundamentals are too good to put a ceiling on the market. During the fourth quarter, companies gave very, very muted outlooks on the first quarter, so earnings might be mildly surprising on the upside," said Margie Patel, senior portfolio manager at Wells Capital Management. After climbing 102.98 points to an all-time intraday high of 14,716.46, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at a record closing high of 14,673.46, up 59.98 points. Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. paced gains that included 20 of the blue-chip index's 30 members. Alcoa Inc. shares finished flat after the aluminum producer reported results that marked the unofficial start of the earnings season. Read more about how Alcoa earnings could boost the market. After advancing to within a few points of its intraday record of 1,576.09, set on Oct. 11, 2007, the S&P 500 index rose 5.54 points to 1,568.61, leaving it just below its 1,570.25 record finish set April 2. Sector gains were led by natural-resource companies, which drew support from Chinese inflation that slowed more than had been expected. Defensive sectors, which performed the best in the first quarter, were the session's weaker performers. Read one take on stock rotation. More on cyclical turnaround here. Amid allegations of insider trading, KPMG resigned on Tuesday as auditor at Herbalife Ltd. and Skechers USA Inc. . Shares of both companies were halted for a period during the session. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. plummeted as analysts deemed Myron Ullman's return to the helm of the struggling retailer as not necessarily a fix for the struggling retailer. See also whether there is value in a buyout of J.C. Penney. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 15.61 points to 3,237.85. For every three stocks falling more than four rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where nearly 670 shares traded. Composite volume surpassed 3.2 billion. The dollar fell against other global currencies, including the yen and the euro . Longer-term Treasury prices held steady or fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note used to determine the rate of mortgages and other consumer loans at 1.749%. “Investors would love to see higher interest rates; I just don't see it," said Wells Capital's Patel, who adds the relatively muted price of commodities will keep inflation low. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of oil rose 84 cents to $94.20 a barrel, while gold futures for April delivery gained $14.20, or 0.9%, to end at $1,586.20 an ounce. On Monday, U.S. stocks finished modestly higher as investors again viewed a market dip as a buying opportunity. Marketwatch
