U.S. stocks rally on upbeat earnings

U.S. stocks ended higher Tuesday as Wall Street digested a batch of positive earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17.88 points, or 0.10 percent, to 18,547.30. The S&P 500 added 4.26 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,186.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 15.48 points, or 0.30 percent, to 5,260.08.

Before the opening bell, Best Buy reported GAAP diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of 0.56 U.S. dollar for the second quarter ended July 30, 2016, an increase of 22 percent from a year ago.

Shares of the consumer-electronics retailer spiked 19.60 percent to 39.23 dollars apiece Tuesday.

Shares of Toll Brothers Inc. surged 8.80 percent to 31.91 dollars apiece Tuesday after the U.S. home builder reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the second quarter of 2016 are expected to decrease 2.2 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to decline 0.5 percent.

On the economic front, U.S. new home sales also came out positive. Sales of new single-family houses in July 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000, well above market estimates and logging the highest level since October 2007, according to the Commerce Department Tuesday.

"The number of new homes sold but not yet started rose to the highest level in nearly nine years suggesting residential construction should remain a positive contributor to growth in Q3," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial.

Meanwhile, investors kept a close eye on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who is scheduled to deliver a speech Friday on the U.S. economy and monetary policy at the Economic Policy Symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Enditem