Stocks gain on earnings; Merck, Cummins rise

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising Tuesday as more companies report earnings. Ameriprise, a financial planning company, rose after it posted earnings that were better than expected. The company also announced it would buy back more of its own stock.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,873 as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 59 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,507. The Nasdaq composite rose seven points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,082.

DIESEL POWER: Cummins, a maker of large diesel engines, rose $4.78, or 3 percent, to $149.62, after the company's first-quarter earnings beat analysts' expectations. The company said its revenue in North America rose 25 percent

BUY BACK AND BEAT: Ameriprise Financial rose $5.47, or 5.3 percent, to $109 after the company reported first quarter earnings that exceed Wall Street's expectations and announced that its board had authorized the repurchase of an additional $2.5 billion in stock.

KORS FOR CONCERN: Coach fell $4.80, or 4.7 percent, to $45.66 after the maker of luxury handbags and other accessories said its profit fell in the first three months of the year. Profit declined as sales in North America came under pressure from competitors like Michael Kors Holdings.

FED MEET: The Federal Reserve will start a two-day meeting on Tuesday. Most economists expect that policy makers will further reduce their bond purchases by $10 billion to $45 billion a month. The Fed's stimulus has helped underpin a five-year rally in stocks.

TREASURYS AND COMMODITIES: In government bond trading, prices edged lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.72 percent. The price of oil rose $1.03, or 1 percent, to $101.87 a barrel.