NEW YORK (AP) ? Stronger earnings reports from Mattel, Coca-Cola and other big companies pushed the stock market higher on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 86 points to 12,813 shortly before 3 p.m. Eastern.
Stocks wavered between gains and losses during morning trading. If the Dow finishes higher, it would be only the third gain for the average this month. Worries that earnings would shrink as economic growth slows in the U.S. and China have weighed on the market in July.
Mattel jumped 10 percent, more than any other company in the S&P 500. The country's biggest toy maker said net income rose on better sales of Barbie dolls and lower advertising costs. Its stock jumped $3.34 to $34.39.
Coca-Cola posted higher income and revenue than Wall Street had expected, thanks in part to booming business overseas. Coke rose $1.42 to $77.90.
A grim assessment on the U.S. economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke kept the gains in check. In his semiannual report before Congress, Bernanke said weaker economic growth likely means the unemployment rate will be slow to drop. But he offered no signs that the Fed was ready to take action to bolster growth soon.
"The big question here isn't whether the Fed will act," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. "We know they will. The question is how bad do things have to deteriorate before they act."
As the earnings season got under way last week, analysts had expected quarterly profits for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index to fall 1 percent compared with the year before, according to S&P Capital IQ, the research arm of S&P. That would break a streak of higher earnings that started in the last quarter of 2009.
Goldman Sachs also reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street's forecasts. The bank said it bundled more mortgages into bonds, leading to a 37 percent increase in sales from mortgage and commodity trading. Its stock gained 7 cents to $97.75.
The gains were broad. All 10 industries in the S&P 500 rose, led by health care companies.
In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 10 points to 1,363 and the Nasdaq rose 16 points to 2,914.
Among other stocks making big moves:
? Mosaic jumped 5 percent. The fertilizer maker's net income beat Wall Street's forecasts, with the help of stronger phosphate sales and higher prices for potash. Mosaic also doubled its quarterly dividend to 25 cents. The stock gained $3.11 to $58.48.
? Reports that HSBC allowed Mexican drug cartels to launder billions through its U.S. banks helped push the bank's stock down 1 percent. A Senate investigation also said some HSBC bank affiliates ignored U.S. government bans against financial transactions with Iran and other countries. HSBC fell 25 cents to $43.23.
? Walt Disney led the Dow, gaining $1.61 to $49.47 after getting an upgrade by analysts at Bank of America.
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