NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks are rising in early trading Tuesday, putting the market on track for another milestone. The Dow Jones industrial average is near its previous record close a day after the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at a new high. The Nasdaq composite index, which has lagged the two main U.S. market barometers, turned slightly positive for the year.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow was up 75 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,301 at 10:20 a.m. Eastern time. That is just 11 points below its previous high reached in May last year. The S&P 500 gained 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,148. The Nasdaq rose 29 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,018.
PROFIT PICTURE: Company earnings reports got off to a good start. Aluminum maker Alcoa jumped 3.4 percent after reporting earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. The stock rose 34 cents to $10.49.
SEAGATE SURGE: Seagate Technology jumped $4.45, or 19 percent, to $28.54 after forecasting strong sales. It also announced it will cut 6,500 jobs, about 14 percent of its total.
JAPAN JUMPS: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index surged 2.5 percent, a day after soaring 4 percent. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised new government spending to help jolt Asia’s second-biggest economy back to life now that his Liberal Democratic Party has won parliamentary elections. Investors are betting he’ll keep flooding the market with money by expanding bond purchases.