Stocks Gain Traction; Toyota Faces More Troubles; Merck Reports Bigger Profit
February 16, 2010 at 17:01 PM EST
Upbeat earnings and a bigger-than-expected rise in regional manufacturing activity carried stocks higher on Tuesday. The stock advance was broad based, with 28 of 30 Dow components rallying. Financial stocks got a boost from Britain’s Barclays PLC ( BCS ), which said it nearly doubled profits in 2009 to $18.2 billion. Earnings have shaped up much better-than-expected, [...]
