Apple Numbers Lift Markets

Stocks closed up today, thanks partially to good news from Apple, which reported a 67% increase in quarterly profit after yesterday's close. Tech in general continued to bolster the markets despite broader economic worries. The Dow rose 109.26 to 13,676.23, the Nasdaq was up 45.33 to 2,799.26, and the S&P 500 climbed 13.26 to 1,519.59.

"Apple in particular, and really all of tech, has been fairly strong," one trader told the Journal. American Express and the New York Times Co. contributed to the rally with extremely strong earnings numbers. "If companies are still beating expectations, that's a good backdrop for stocks," an investment manager told Bloomberg. (More stock market stories.)