MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stocks Muster Modest Rise As Tech Climbs

By Ellie Ismailidou and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Shares of McDonald's tumbles after weak earnings; Dollar slumps against yen

U.S. stocks moved modestly higher on Tuesday, after opening mostly flat, boosted by an advance in technology shares.

Investors seemed to shrug off positive news from the housing market, where Case-Shiller home-price index rose 0.9% in May. Instead, investors were bracing for a deluge of earnings, including updates from Twitter Inc. and Apple Inc., due after the closing bell.

Shares of McDonald's Corp(MCD) slumped after the world's largest fast-food restaurant chain missed earnings expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-shares-fall-after-revenue-same-store-sales-miss-expectations-2016-07-26), while lower oil prices continued to weigh on energy stocks.

The S&P 500 index gained 4 points, or 0.2%, at 2,172, led by a 0.6% gain in technology stocks. Four of the index's 10 sectors were in negative territory, with telecom stocks leading the losses, down 0.8%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 18 points, 0.1% to 18,511. A 2.3% jump in United Technologies Corp.(UTX) and a 1.6% climb in Caterpillar Inc.(CAT) helping to offset McDonald's decline, which was shaving more than 30 points from the blue-chips gauge.

The advance in tech helped the Nasdaq Composite Index was add 20 points, or 0.4%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2016 10:11 ET (14:11 GMT)

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