Upbeat earnings, economic reports boost stocks

A stream of good news has the stock market back on an upward path.

Encouraging corporate and economic reports Wednesday added to hopes that a recovery is taking hold even as big concerns remain about unemployment and bursting budgets in countries like Greece.

Deere & Co. and Whole Foods Market Inc. jumped after their profit reports topped expectations and the companies raised their forecasts. Improved reports on home construction and production at factories also helped pull the market higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 40.43 points, or 0.4 percent, to 10,309.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.64, or 0.4 percent, to 1,099.51, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 12.10, or 0.6 percent, to 2,226.29.

Bond prices fell, pushing yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.75 percent from 3.66 percent late Tuesday. - AP