Stocks close higher ahead of State of the Union address

- How Ocasio-Cortez and others pushed Amazon out of New YorkHere's how Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and other politicians influenced Amazon's Feb. 14 decision to cancel its plan for a second headquarters in New York.
The Washington Post
- Richard Branson says tax the rich moreRichard Branson says tax the rich more
Fox Business
- Touring the 2019 Chicago Auto ShowManufacturers from all over the world exhibit new vehicles and technology at the country's largest auto show. CNET Roadshow's Tim Stevens takes a look at what's on display.
CBS News
How Ocasio-Cortez and others pushed Amazon out of New York
The Washington Post2:26Richard Branson says tax the rich more
Fox Business1:10Touring the 2019 Chicago Auto Show
CBS News3:22Here's how you can view free streaming TV
USA TODAY1:25The most audacious business move Mark Cuban ever mde
Inc.1:05Here's what NYC is losing after Amazon canceled HQ plans
CNBC1:47Clever tips to save on groceries
Money Talks News1:36Why Whole Foods raised its prices on hundreds of products
GOBankingRates1:03
How London's public transit organizes 340,000 lost items
Business Insider6:01Trump reportedly spent $50K on White House golf simulator
CNN2:01A hard choice in the Arctic: Mining or reindeer?
Reuters1:55Amazon pulls out of plan to build HQ2 in New York City
Newsy0:39Mars Wrigley CEO unveils new M&M's flavor
CNBC2:45Marijuana taxes too high for California pot growers
Fox Business2:04Hackers exposing millions of patient medical records
CBS News2:09How Amazon will get away with paying $0 in federal taxes this year
Business Insider3:34
Stocks ended higher Tuesday as the corporate earnings season rolled on and as traders awaited President Donald Trump's State of the Union address.
The Dow closed 172 points higher, led by Apple and Intel. The Nasdaq gained 0.74 percent, while the S&P 500 added 0.47 percent on the back of gains from the tech and consumer sectors.
Alphabet, Seagate Technology and Estee Lauder are among the companies that have reported better-than-expected earnings. However, Alphabet traded slightly lower as the company also revealed declining advertising prices and rising costs. Seagate shares also dipped 1 percent.
Estee Lauder, meanwhile, jumped 12 percent on better-than-expected results. The company also raised its 2019 earnings guidance. Archer-Daniels Midland fell 6.7 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue.
Nearly half of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings through Tuesday morning, with about 70 percent of those companies topping analyst expectations, according to The Earnings Scout.
"However, the beat rates are running below last quarter as the overall year-over-year rates of sales and earnings growth has decelerated," said Nick Raich, CEO of The Earnings Scout, in a note to clients. "Most importantly, 1Q 2019 through 3Q 2019 S&P 500 EPS growth expectations continue to go lower with some providers already showing negative growth."
FactSet data show that corporate earnings for the first quarter are expected to decline by 0.8 percent. Raich said, however, he expects earnings to continue growing in the first half of 2019. He added the negative estimates are mostly a byproduct of "low-balled estimates."
Disney, Electronic Arts, Snap and Spirit Airlines are among the companies scheduled to report after the bell Tuesday.
Wall Street also looked ahead to the State of the Union, which comes more than a week after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end. Investors should be looking for clues on a number of matters, including U.S.-China trade talks.
"We expect an optimistic tone on President Trump's desire to strike a deal, but we remain cautious that these headlines are likely to whip around during any verification or enforcement phase," Ed Mills, public policy analyst at Raymond James, wrote in a note to clients.
The president could also make comments on drug pricing during the speech, as well as a possible infrastructure bill. Some stocks to watch heading into the speech include Fluor Corp, Jacobs Engineering, chipmaker Qorvo and Wynn Resorts, according to Strategas Research Partners.
But while Trump could strike a bipartisan approach on both of those fronts — which would be bullish for the market — the stalemate over the U.S.-Mexico border wall with Democrats could undercut that.
Isaac Boltansky, director of policy research at Compass Point, said Trump will likely dedicate a good chunk of his speech to his wall proposal. "We believe there will be an outsized focus on the border wall and the president could use this forum to build his case for unilateral administrative action on the wall (e.g., national emergency declaration)," Boltansky wrote in a note.