The New York equities markets were up at midday on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5 percent to 11,400.12, the Nasdaq Composite fractionally higher at 2,311.13, and the S&P 500 0.4 percent higher to 1,310.04. New corporate earnings reports helped the markets recover from losses late in the day Monday after a report that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke felt that the media had misinterpreted the testimony he gave before Congress last week.
Utilities helped the S&P, taking its Utilities Index 1.1 percent higher. Texas Utilities was up 8.2 percent to $53.99 on a reported 37 percent gain in net income in the first quarter. New Jersey’s Public Service Enterprise gained 1.4 percent to $62.81.
Alternative fuels were also up on the day. Archer Daniels Midland, which makes ethanol among other activities, was up 9.1 percent to $41.47 in very heavy trading after it reported better than expected earnings in its third quarter. ADM shares have gained 13.5 percent so far this week and 65 percent since January. Another ethanol producer, Pacific Ethanol, added 6.7 percent by mid-session, to $36.27.
Homebuilders, however, were down as new figures showed pending home sales at a two-year low. Toll Brothers declined by 2.7 percent to $30.33, while Hovnavian dropped 7 percent to $36.08 on a drop in earnings.