US stocks tick up amid strong earnings

New York, Nov 1 : US stocks traded slightly higher on Tuesday after a batch of strong corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday inched up 23.08 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 23,371.82, Xinhua news agency reported.

The S&P 500 rose 3.05 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 2,575.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 20.81 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 6,719.78.

Mastercard, the credit card company, announced better-than-expected financial results on Tuesday.

Other companies, including Mondelez and Aetna, also posted quarterly earnings that beat investors.

Apple, Tesla and Starbucks, among others, are set to report later this week.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the third quarter of 2017 are expected to rise 6.7 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase 5.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve is kicking off a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

"The Fed is expected to announce no change in policy tomorrow, but could use the statement to signal a December move, possibly by playing up a strengthening economy," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, on Tuesday.