NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street as traders turn their focus to U.S. corporate earnings reports.
Aluminum maker Alcoa became the first company in the Dow Jones industrial average to report first-quarter results. The earnings, which came in shortly after the closing bell, were better than analysts were expecting.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 48 points, or 0.3 percent, to end at 14,613 Monday.
Other indexes posted slightly bigger gains. The Standard & Poor's 500 index increased nine points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,563.
The Nasdaq composite rose 18 points, or 0.6 percent, to 3,222.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was light at 2.8 billion shares.
