Stocks Post Gains

Indices closed in the green zone on Tuesday. Brands such as Home Depot, Intel, Chevron and Hewlett-Packard stepped up today on Wall Street. Stocks climbed amid a variety of economic news. Consumer sentiment increased in February. The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence hit 69.6, which was well above expectations. The 11.2-point uptick ended a three-month dip, lifting the index to its highest level since November. Meanwhile, new-home sales climbed to 437,000 annualized units in January, which marked a gain of 15.6% from the upwardly revised December rate. In earnings action, Priceline said profit hit $289 million, or $5.63 a share, on revenue of $1.19 billion. This is up from $226 million, or $4.41 a share, a year ago. Elsewhere, crude oil futures slipped 48 cents to settle at $92.63 a barrel.

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