Energy stocks lead a turnaround on Wall Street

4/22/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Stock markets finished higher today.
Stock markets finished higher today.

NEW YORK — Stocks closed modestly higher today on Wall Street, led by energy companies as oil prices rise back following a plunge last week.

Investors were focusing on earnings news from major U.S. companies.

About a third of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index report earnings this week. Halliburton and Hasbro rose after reporting results that were better than analysts were expecting.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20 points to close at 14,567, a gain of 0.1 percent.

The S&P 500 increased seven points to 1,562, or 0.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite rose 27 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,233 points.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was lower than usual, 2.9 billion shares.