MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Edge Higher; Michael Kors Soars On Earnings

By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market edged higher on Tuesday after a drop in factory orders during December was smaller than economists had expected.

The main indexes rebounded from their worst declines since June made a day earlier, sparked then by disappointing manufacturing data that fed into fears over a possible slowdown in the economy.

Tuesday, orders for goods produced in U.S. factories fell by less than economists expected, led by a drop for durable goods.

The S&P 500 (SPX) was 9 points, or 0.5%, higher at 1,751.79, recovering somewhat after Monday's steep selloff left the index more than 5% below its peak, reached on Jan 15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 47 points, or 0.3% to 15,424.63, after dipping briefly dipping into red early Tuesday.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 26 points, or 0.6% to 4,022.71 at the open.

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The economic calendar will get busier later in the week, with the ISM services index and ADP jobs reports due on Wednesday, and the closely watched nonfarm-payrolls report due on Friday.

In earnings news, Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) fell 1.4% after the broadcasting firm posted a drop in fourth-quarter profit.

Michael Kors (KORS) shares soared 19% after the firm reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its per-share earnings guidance.

Shares of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) rose more than 1% on news that the software giant had named Satya Nadella, head of the company's cloud and enterprise business, as its new chief executive officer.

J.C. Penney (JCP) reported a 2% increase in same-store sales for the fourth quarter, marking the first time since the second quarter of 2011 that the retailer has generated a positive quarterly sales result. Shares rose 2.1%

Yum Brands Inc. (YUM) rallied 2.4% after the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut said late Monday its fourth-quarter earnings fell to 70 cents a share from 72 cents a share a year ago. However, the company earned 86 cents a share on an adjusted basis, better than the average of 79 cents projected in a FactSet survey.

CME Group Inc. (CME) shares fell slightly after the exchange operator posted fourth-quarter earnings below expectations

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 95 cents a share, beating expectations of an EPS of 85 cents. Shares rose 1.6%.

Two Fed officials speak on Tuesday. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said Tuesday that he expects tapering of the central bank's bond-buying program to continue.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans addresses potential policy challenges for 2014 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Neither is a voting member of the Fed's policy committee this year.

In other financial markets, European stocks headed for a third straight day of losses, while Asian bourses closed in deep red. Oil rebounded ahead of inventory data, while gold moved lower. In currencies, the Australian dollar climbed against the U.S. dollar after the country's central bank indicated it is no longer leaning toward cutting interest rates.

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