By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks crept higher worldwide on Tuesday as investors looked past U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist rhetoric and focused on encouraging economic data and quarterly earnings reports.
The U.S. dollar firmed against the yen and euro after losses in the wake of Trump's inaugural speech promising more trade protectionism, while U.S. Treasury yields recovered from Monday's slide.
MSCI's world index, which tracks shares in 46 countries, was up 0.33 percent, helped by signs of a revival of economic activity around the world.
Japanese manufacturing showed the fastest expansion in almost three years and a 5-1/2-year peak in French business activity provided the latest proof of a nascent euro zone recovery.
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U.S. stocks recovered ground after Monday's dip.
With earnings gathering pace, investors are hoping that corporate performance can justify market valuations, given the recent rally that drove Wall Street to record highs.
"Whether it is political, economics or earnings, something needs to show up to give investors another boost of confidence that better times lie ahead," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer at 50 Park Investments.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.35 points, or 0.29 percent, to 19,857.2, the S&P 500 gained 7.57 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,272.77 and the Nasdaq Composite added 17.67 points, or 0.32 percent, to 5,570.61.
Yahoo rose 4 percent after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue and said the sale of its core internet business to Verizon should be completed in the second quarter.
European earnings season got off to a rocky start with profit warnings from BT Group and Aryzta sending their shares sharply lower, but the weakness was offset by gains in Italian financials and mining stocks.
Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.26 percent at 1,429.14.
The U.S. dollar rebounded against the yen and euro , offsetting recent losses related to the change in U.S. leadership, as bargain hunters stepped in and bought back the currency still viewed as having the best economic outlook in the developed world.
"When you take the spotlight more toward Europe and Britain and Brexit, you start looking at the dollar as a better long-term option," said Juan Perez, currency trader at Tempus Consulting in Washington.
Perez, however, said that investors are still worried about Trump's plan to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada and his abandonment of the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership with Asian countries.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major rivals, was little changed at 100.100.
The steadier dollar weighed on gold prices, which fell from a two-month peak. Spot gold was down 0.39 percent to $1,212.66 an ounce.
U.S. Treasury debt yields rose, in step with their European counterparts, following a high court ruling on Britain's decision to quit the European Union and encouraging data on euro zone manufacturing.
Yields, however, pared some gains as U.S. existing home sales fell as supply hit a 17-year low, reviving worries about the housing sector.
The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes was up 3 basis points at 2.428 percent.
Oil prices rose on evidence that the market is tightening as lower production by OPEC and other exporters drains stocks, though increased drilling in the United States could keep a lid on prices.
Brent crude was up 0.71 percent at $55.62 a barrel, while U.S. crude was up 1.18 percent at $53.37.
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
