The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 58.70 points (0.72 per cent) to close at 8,174.73 after a 38-point rise on Monday for blue chips.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 15.44 points (1.04 per cent) to 1,504.90 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 9.14 points (1.09 per cent) to 845.71.

Stocks opened higher across the board after some corporate earnings reported were not as bad as expected despite a deepening recession, although the market wobbled after some grim economic news.

The market was able to shake off news that the Conference Board consumer confidence index tumbled to 37.7 in January, the weakest on record, and a survey showing a record year-over-year decline of 18.2 per cent of home prices in the 20 largest US metropolitan areas.

'The equities market seemed to shrug off a double dose of dismal economic data today, with investors virtually ignoring the latest decline in both home prices and consumer confidence,' said Andrea Kramer at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Analysts said earnings reports from DuPont, American Express, the Travelers and Texas Instruments helped ease concerns about the recession's drag on corporate profits.

The Senate's confirmation of Treasury Secretary Geithner late on Monday eased market concerns as he could immediately begin the massive task of containing financial turmoil, beginning with a revamped financial bailout plan.

Senators voted 60-34 to confirm Mr Geithner after debate in which foes cited his failure to pay certain taxes earlier this decade and his support for government intervention in the economy while his backers stressed his expertise and the urgent need to pull the US economy out of a paralysing recession.

Among stocks in focus, American Express rose 9.74 per cent to US$16.68 as the financial services group offered an outlook not as bad as feared by the market.

Al Goldman at Wachovia Securities said that 'encouraging earnings allowed the stock market to overcome weak economic news,' adding that American Express 'led a rebound in financials'.

Elsewhere in finance, Citigroup climbed 6.6 per cent to US$3.55 and JPMorgan Chase added 2.29 per cent to US$25.06.

DuPont reported a loss of US$629 million (S$946 million) for the fourth quarter, but managed to rise 0.39 per cent to US$23.27 with diminished investor fears of an even worse situation for the chemical giant.

Travellers Companies, the insurance giant whose 25 per cent drop in profit was better than expected, rose 6.15 per cent to US$39.89.

In the tech sector, Texas Instruments advanced 3.66 per cent to US$15.31 as the semiconductor maker beat profit expectations and announced new job cuts to bolster its prospects.

Verizon, the country's second-largest telecommunications provider, met Wall Street earnings estimates, but fell 3.32 per cent to US$29.96.

Bonds rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond fell to 2.519 per cent from 2.643 per cent on Monday and that on the 30-year bond dropped to 3.234 per cent from 3.383. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions. -- AFP