Stocks are holding onto strong gains in mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday, with some bargain hunting and the prospect of a bailout for debt-ridden Greece helping the markets. The major averages are all in positive territory, attempting to begin a recovery following recent weakness.
A prospective bailout package for Greece boosted trader sentiment, as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet left earlier than expected to attend a European Union leaders' summit, where the details for the bailout are expected to be drawn up. Back in the U.S., the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected decrease in wholesale inventories in the month of December, although the report also showed a continued increase in wholesale sales during the month.
With earnings season drawing to a close, Coca-Cola (KO) reported fourth quarter earnings that fell short of expectations, while its revenues topped estimates. Pulte Homes Inc. (PHM) reported a fourth quarter loss but was also able to beat revenue forecasts.
Also on the corporate front, fast food giant McDonald's Corp. (MCD) announced that global comparable sales for the month of January grew 2.6 percent, driven by the European and Asian markets. Total sales for January rose 9.1 percent, including a 0.1 percent drop in the U.S.
Earlier in the day, Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) announced the recall of nearly half a million new Prius and other hybrid cars due to problems related to the software program that controls the vehicles' anti-lock braking system.
The major averages have all seen choppy movement as they are hovering near their highs of the session. The Dow is currently up 179.19 points or 1.8 percent at 10,087.58, the Nasdaq is up 29.07 points or 1.4 percent at 2,155.12 and the S&P 500 is up 15.70 points or 1.5 percent at 1,072.4.
Dow Components
All but one of the Dow components are moving higher, contributing to the nearly 200-point gain being shown by the blue chip index.
Caterpillar (CAT) is helping to lead the Dow higher, posting a gain of 6 percent. With the move, the stock is bouncing off of Monday's four-month closing low.
Coca-Cola is also on the rise, climbing by 3.3 percent. The advance is boosting shares away from the more than four-month closing low set yesterday.
The advance by shares of the beverage giant comes after the firm reported that its quarterly revenue rose 5 percent to $7.51 billion, topping the consensus revenue estimate of $7.21 billion.
Boeing (BA), Alcoa (AA), and DuPont (DD) are also among the best performers in the Dow, while Merck (MRK) is currently the only Dow component in the red, seeing a loss of 0.2 percent.
Sector News
Airline stocks remain significantly higher in mid-afternoon trading, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 6.8 percent. The index is being led higher by UAL Corp. (UAUA), which reported a pick-up in January traffic.
Oil service stocks are also seeing considerable buying interest, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index up by 3.6 percent. With the move, the index is bouncing off of yesterday's two-month closing low. The upside has come as the price of oil has risen on the day.
Steel, gold, networking and chemical stocks are also up by substantial margins, contributing to the strong gains being shown by the major averages.
In Focus: Wholesale Trade Data, Earnings
As mentioned above, the Commerce Department reported that wholesale inventories fell by 0.8 percent in December following an upwardly revised 1.6 percent increase in November. Economists had been expecting inventories to increase by 0.5 percent compared to the 1.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said that wholesale sales increased by 0.8 percent in December after surging up by 3.6 percent in the previous month. The increase reflected a 3.0 percent jump in sales of durable goods.
On the earnings front, Pulte Homes reported a fourth quarter net loss of $0.31 per share, compared to a net loss of $1.33 per share in the year ago quarter. Consolidated revenue for the quarter rose 5 percent to $1.73 billion. Analysts expected Pulte to report revenues of $1.50 billion.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mixed on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all posted modest gains. The French CAC 40 and the German DAX Index both gained 0.2 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent.
In the bond markets, treasuries are lower after mixed results from today's three-year note auction. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note is currently up 4.3 basis points at 3.635 percent.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.