The Dow Jones Industrial Average enjoyed a triple-digit rise, with the bulk of the advance coming from the top four of its 30 components. Shares of Caterpillar Inc. were contributing about 40 points, McDonald’s Corp’s rise added about 35 points, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. contributed about 30 points, while the DuPont Inc. added 15 points to the blue-chip benchmark. The gains from that quartet of companies make up more than half of the price-weighted Dow’s 230-point rise in early Tuesday action, and follow healthy quarterly reports from most of those names. Caterpillar DuPont {s: DD] and McDonald’s reported quarterly results on Tuesday that topped Wall Street estimates. Goldman, meanwhile, reported results last week that disappointed investors’ expectations, but the investment bank is benefiting from the anticipation of higher interest-rates ahead as improving economic sentiment bolsters expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates–a boon for bank shares. The S&P 500 index also was climbing, up 0.6%, at 2,388 and the Nasdaq Composite Index marked a milestone: surpassing the psychologically important level of 6,000 for the first time.
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