MARKET SNAPSHOT: Nasdaq Hits 15-year High; Dow Lifted By Visa, McDonald's

By Anora Mahmudova and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Nasdaq stands 13 points away from an all-time high

U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday as better-than-expected earnings and an upbeat report on existing-homes sales fueled investor confidence.

Some of that confidence was evident in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (RIXF), which rose for the third-straight session and sits only 13 points below its record close reached on March 10, 2000. The tech-heavy index added 21 points, or 0.4%, to 5,035.17.

Nasdaq's run came as investors are looking to corporate earnings as a guide to the health of the U.S. economy amid one of the busiest weeks for quarterly results.

An upbeat reading of quarterly results and positive news helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), which gained 88.35 points, or 0.5%, to 18,038.07.

About half of those gains came from the top four gainers, including Visa Inc. (V), McDonald's (MCD), American Express Company (AXP) and Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Dow components McDonald's, Coca-Cola (KO) and Boeing all posted better-than-expected earning. Shares of Boeing were down 2%, however, as the aerospace company also reporting an increase in expenses.

The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 10.66 points, or 0.5%, higher at 2,107.95, with technology stocks leading broad-based gains.

Matt Kaufler, portfolio manager at Federated Investors, said a stronger reading on home sales and earnings that are coming at, or above, expectations are giving some confidence to investors.

"We believe a lot of revisions due to a stronger dollar had been overblown. Investors forget that the stronger dollar has positive as well as negative effects on company earnings and net net it should not be as bad as feared," Kaufler said.

"The market has been trading close to record levels and has an upside bias. However, we would not be disappointed to see the market trade sideways the whole year," Kaufler noted.

Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said in a note that "the major advances of the last six months have left major indices fully valued and exhausted for now and in consolidation/digestion mode."

After the close of U.S. stock markets, eBay Inc. (EBAY) reported better-than expected results, and Facebook (FB) reported growing first-quarter revenues but expenses dragged the social media's company's profits lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebooks-spending-weighs-on-profits-2015-04-22-16485162).

Individual movers: McDonald's gained 3.1% after its adjusted quarterly profit topped expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-reports-steeper-profit-fall-2015-04-22), and as the fast-food giant embarks on a turnaround.

Coca-Cola posted better-than-expected profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cokes-results-top-expectations-2015-04-22-74854226) and revenue in the first quarter, helping send its shares up 1.3%. Boeing'sfirst-quarter earnings also beat forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-profit-beats-estimates-sales-fall-short-2015-04-22), with results boosted by strong commercial-jet demand, but shares dipped 1.4%.

Angie's List (ANGI) shares soared 5% after the company, which operates a website that allows users to review local businesses, said it swung to a profit in the first quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/angies-lists-stock-jumps-after-company-swings-to-surprise-profit-2015-04-22).

Visa Inc.(V), jumped 4.1% after news that the Chinese government announced that it would open up its market for clearing domestic bank card transactions.

Read more about Wednesday's jumpiest stocks in the Movers & Shakers column (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-mcdonalds-coca-cola-in-focus-wednesday-2015-04-22)

Other markets: Japan's Nikkei stock index closed above 20,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) for the first time in 15 years, and Hong Kong-listed stocks finished higher. European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), meanwhile, closed flat.

Oil (CLM5) lost ground and settled 0.8% lower at $56.16 (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) a barrel. Gold futures (GCK5) fell, settling at the lowest level this month (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) down 1.4%, at $1,186.90. The ICE dollar index (DXY) was roughly flat.

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires