By Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch

A quartet of Dow components reported quarterly results on Tuesday, including McDonald's, P&G, United Tech and Travelers

U.S. stocks saw a slightly higher open for Wall Street on Tuesday as a parade of corporate quarterly results were released, including those from a quartet of Dow components: McDonald's, Procter & Gamble Co., United Technologies and Travelers Cos.

How are major indexes performing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 31 points, or 0.1%, to 26,858. The S&P 500 index picked up 5 points, or 0.1%, to 3,011. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 27 points, or 0.3%, to 8,191.

On Monday, the Dow ended the day 57.44 points, or 0.2%, higher at 26,827.64, weighed by a decline in shares of Boeing Co.'s stock (BA), following a report on Friday that said the company may have misled federal aviation authorities (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-stock-at-its-lowest-in-two-months-after-report-jet-maker-may-have-misled-faa-2019-10-18) about the safety of the 737 Max jet. .

The S&P 500 index rose 20.52 points, or 0.7%, to end at 3,006.72, leaving it 0.6% away from its record closing high of 3,025.86 set on July 26. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 73.44 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 8,162.99, about 2% from its July peak.

What's driving the market?

With trade negotiations between the U.S. and China reported to be making slow progress, investors will likely train their eyes on a deluge of corporate results, including nearly one-fourth of the S&P 500 index components this week and four Dow components which are due to report early Tuesday.

For the third quarter, S&P 500 index companies are likely to report a year-over-year decline in earnings of 4.7%, but year-over-year growth in revenues of 2.6%, with a possible net profit margin of 11.3%, which would be the first time index companies have reported three straight quarters of year-over-year declines in net profit margin since Q1 2009 through Q3 2009, FactSet analyst John Butters said.

Against the backdrop of slowing economic growth, analysts have cut projections for 2020 earnings for S&P 500 corporations by 0.5%, according to Bloomberg News, citing its proprietary data provide (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-21/knife-hits-2020-profit-estimate-in-replay-of-pre-plunge-revision)r, despite results that have mostly come in better than expected so far in the third-quarter.

But "so far, earnings season has been much better than most initially feared, as the banks painted a healthy picture of the US consumer," wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage Oanda, in a Tuesday brief. "This week, we will see how consumer staples and discretionary companies soften their outlooks."

Looking ahead, investors will get an update on the health of the U.S. housing market with a report on existing-home sales for September due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, and a regional manufacturing survey, the Richmond Fed Manufacturing index, due at the same time.

Meanwhile, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to moderate a conversation with Bank for International Settlements General Manager Agustín Carstens.

On the trade front, President Donald Trump said Monday that a deal between Washington and Beijing is going "very well (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-says-us-china-trade-deal-coming-along-very-well-2019-10-21)." Top trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer also said that the U.S. aims to finish the first phase of talks by mid-November when the two countries meet in Chile.

Elsewhere, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was preparing to see his Brexit plan put up for another vote, with lawmakers being asked to approve the plan in principle, followed by a vote on the government's schedule for debate and possible amendments.

Which stocks are in focus?

Procter & Gamble Co. shares (PG) were gaining after the company delivered its third-quarter results and dialed up its expectation for 2020 sales growth, up 3% to 5% from previous guidance of 3% to 4% growth.

McDonald's Corp. stock (MCD) fell after earnings fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Read: McDonald's earnings preview: Buy-one-get-one, spicy barbecue chicken drove sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mcdonalds-earnings-preview-buy-one-get-one-spicy-bbq-chicken-drove-sales-2019-10-21)

Shares of Dow-component United Technologies Corp.(UTX) rose at the opening bell after the company beat earnings' expectations, and raised its earnings outlook for 2019.

Travelers Cos. stock(TRV) fell sharply (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/travelers-stock-falls-after-earnings-miss-2019-10-22)after the insurer saw earnings decline and fall short of expectations.

United Parcel Service Inc. stock (UPS) slipped despite the package-shipping company delivering third-quarter results that outperformed analysts' consensus estimates.

Shares of Hasbro Inc. (HAS) sank Tuesday, after the toy maker reported third-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations, as weakness in franchise brands and trade uncertainty offset strength in partner brands.

Biogen Inc. shares (BIIB) soared on Tuesday after the company filed for regulatory approval for an Alzheimer drug called aducanumab after analysis of its clinical trial showed promise, the drugmaker said.

Under Armour Inc. (UAA) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/under-armour-names-patrik-frisk-ceo-succeeding-ceo-and-founder-kevin-plank-2019-10-22)(UAA) stock rose after the sportswear brand announced CEO Kevin Plank was stepping down (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/under-armour-names-patrik-frisk-ceo-succeeding-ceo-and-founder-kevin-plank-2019-10-22)and named Patrik Frisk its new chief effective as of Jan. 1, 2020.

JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) said Tuesday it had a net income of $187 million (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jetblue-shares-fall-premarket-as-earnings-beat-but-airline-offers-soft-guidance-2019-10-22), or 63 cents a share, in the third quarter, up from $50 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) were trading lower after the defense contractor reported third-quarter results, with sales $15.17 billion, versus $14.32 billion a year ago, above the FactSet consensus $14.87 billion.

How are other markets performing?

The 10-year Treasury note yield was down 2.8 basis points to 1.764% on Tuesday.

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-set-for-second-skid-in-a-row-as-investors-fret-about-crude-demand-2019-10-21)up 51 cents, or 1%, to trade at $53.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for December delivery on Comex edged up $2.30, or 0.2%, at $1,490.20 an ounce, after slipping 0.4% to settle at $1,488.10 an ounce on Monday.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index , which tracks the performance of the greenback against six major rivals, rose about 0.2% to 97.478.

Global stock-markets were also trading higher. The Stoxx Europe 600 was trading less than 0.1% higher. In Asia, China's CSI 300 index finished up 0.4% and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.2%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2019 09:57 ET (13:57 GMT)