AmEx, Texas Instruments offer encouraging results
* Data shows housing, consumer woes persist
* Dow up 0.7 pct; S&P 500 and Nasdaq each up 1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to close, changes byline)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq up for a third straight day as a rare bit of encouraging news on the earnings front from companies, including American Express (AXP.N), offset fresh signs that consumers remain glum.
American Express jumped nearly 10 percent and gave the biggest boost to the Dow after the credit card company posted a quarterly profit that surpassed analysts' forecasts.
Chip maker Texas Instruments (TXN.N) , up 3.7 percent, gave the technology sector a welcome reprieve after its quarterly profit fell less than feared. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .SOXX rose 3.5 percent, capping its first three-day run-up of 2009.
Analysts said investors were beginning to look beyond some of the gloomy news amid hopes about efforts to stabilize the economy.
"You've had such a fierce down market that when the news flow is OK, you're getting some sort of bounces," said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors in New York. "In terms of American Express, people had braced themselves for a disaster. Although the numbers were poor, they weren't a disaster."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 58.70 points, or 0.72 percent, to 8,174.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 9.14 points, or 1.09 percent, to 845.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC advanced 15.44 points, or 1.04 percent, to 1,504.90.
After the closing bell, Moody's Investors Service said it may cut its top ratings on General Electric Co (GE.N) and its finance arm, citing increased uncertainty about outlook. The stock fell 4.6 percent to $12.46 in after-hours trading. [ID:nN27473071]
During the regular session, American Express shares rose 9.7 percent to $16.68. Shares of Citigroup (C.N) jumped 6.6 percent to $3.55 after its chief executive reiterated his plan to cut costs. [ID:nN27465219]
Financials by far contributed the greatest boost to the broader market, sending the S&P financial index .GSPF up 3.7 percent.
Worries about the financial sector's health have been the biggest hurdle for the market, fueling unease about stocks' performance in January, which is traditionally seen as a guide to the year's prospects.
Year to date, the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX is down 6.4 percent. After starting 2009 up more than 20 percent from its Nov. 21 bear-market low, the index is now up 12.4 percent
