Wall Street rises on earnings, energy shares

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Tuesday as a wave of companies reported quarterly results but some failed to beat heightened expectations.

Coca-Cola reported mixed results, Johnson & Johnson topped forecasts but drug sales slumped, and UnitedHealth Group soared past estimates. Coke stock was down 1.5 percent to $54.50, Johnson & Johnson fell 0.2 percent to $65.90, but UnitedHealth added 0.3 percent to $31.15.

Goldman Sachs shares dropped 1.2 percent to $161.41, even as it said quarterly profits nearly doubled. British regulators launched a probe into alleged fraud after U.S. regulators charged the Wall Street bank with fraud related to subprime mortgage investments last week.

IBM shed 2.7 percent to $128.70, weighing on the Dow, after it posted better-than-expected profits but disappointing gross margins Monday.

The S&P energy sector <.GSPE> edged up 1.7 percent as crude oil futures rose 2 percent to top $83 a barrel, rebounding from three-week lows as European airports opened after the Iceland volcanic ash disruption.

"The Goldman news is still churning out there ... but (corporate) earnings look like they outweigh that," said Kim Caughey, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. "At the end of the day ... you have to look at the earnings, and the economic forecasts, and that is what's driving people to buy."

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 14.51 points, or 0.13 percent, to 11,106.56. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 6.05 points, or 0.51 percent, to 1,203.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 8.65 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,488.76.

Apple Inc and Yahoo Inc are both due to report results later Tuesday.

European planes began flying again after five days of airport closures due to the massive ash cloud originating in an Icelandic volcano.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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