By Anna Isaac and Alexander Osipovich 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Tuesday as investors digested the latest flurry of third-quarter earnings reports.

The blue-chip index gained 96 points, or 0.4%, in early-afternoon trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1%.

Overall market moves have been muted recently even with the corporate earnings season well underway, keeping major indexes in a tight trading range.

With results in from nearly 20% of the companies in the S&P 500, earnings are projected to decline 4.7% for the third quarter from a year ago, according to FactSet, adding to concerns that U.S. economic growth is slowing. That would mark the third consecutive quarter of declining profits.

The S&P 500 is up just 1.2% in October, while the Dow industrials are roughly flat. Both indexes are within 2% of their all-time highs reached in July.

Biogen shares surged 31% after the pharmaceutical company said it would seek regulatory approval for a drug that treats Alzheimer's disease. Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 3.8% after the drugmaker reported favorable results from a trial for a cancer treatment.

Meanwhile, shares of consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble gained 3.3% and motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson climbed 7.8% after both companies reported better-than-expected earnings.

Among the day's losers, Hasbro tumbled 15% after the toy-maker reported weaker-than-expected revenue. Travelers, a member of the Dow, dropped 7% after the insurer added to its reserves due to an increase in claims payments for lawsuits and jury awards. McDonald's slumped 4% after it missed expectations on profits.

Later Tuesday, investors will get results from more companies, including tariff-hit Whirlpool and social-media company Snap.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 inched up 0.1% as Brexit uncertainty weighed on investor appetite ahead of another day of voting by U.K. lawmakers on the terms of the nation's exit from the European Union.

"Investors want to keep the status quo unless proven otherwise," said Geoffrey Yu, head of the U.K. investment office at USB Wealth Management. "They have learned with trade talks and Brexit, if you try and position too aggressively for the downside, you might just get smacked in the face."

The British pound slipped 0.1% against the dollar. Analysts expect the pound to face further volatility in the days ahead.

China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5% after President Trump said Monday that a trade deal between the U.S. and China "is coming along very well," leading to speculation that the two nations may reach a tariff agreement in the coming months.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield slipped to 1.787% from 1.794% on Monday. Bond prices rise as yields fall.

In commodities, U.S. crude futures gained 1.2% to $54.16 a barrel. Gold futures were little changed.

Write to Anna Isaac at anna.isaac@wsj.com and Alexander Osipovich at alexander.osipovich@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2019 14:15 ET (18:15 GMT)

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