Specialists Gregg Maloney, left, and Peter Elkins, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. Specialists John McNierney, left, and Todd Abrahall work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. Trader Michael Zicchinolfi, left, and specialist Michael Pistillo work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. Kevin Coulter, foreground left, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. Trader Edward Curran scurries across the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. Strong earnings reports from big U.S. companies helped push the Dow Jones industrial average to its eighth gain in nine sessions Tuesday. DuPont, Verizon and Travelers Cos., three of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow, closed higher after reporting their financial results for the final quarter of 2012. The Dow closed up 62.51 points, or 0.5 percent, at 13,712.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 6.53, or 0.4 percent, to 1,492.51. The Nasdaq composite average rose 8.47, or 0.3 percent, to 3,143.18. Around noon, the Dow rose decisively and stayed higher for the rest of the day. Earnings have been strong enough this season to drive a five-day winning streak for the S&P 500 and put the Dow on track for its biggest monthly percentage gain since October 2011. The revenue side of the equation has been weaker, Ablin said, preventing a stronger updraft for stocks. Traders might gain more confidence if companies reported stronger demand from emerging markets and Europe, he said. Among the Dow components that reported early Tuesday, chemical and bioscience company DuPont reported a sharp drop in net income on weakness in its electronics, communications and other businesses, but the results still beat analysts' forecasts. DuPont's stock closed up 83 cents, or 1.8 percent, at $47.82. J&J dropped 54 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $72.69. Verizon Communications Inc. rose after the country's biggest wireless carrier said it activated a record number of new devices on contract-based plans in the fourth quarter. Its stock rose 40 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $42.94. A fourth member of the Dow 30, property and casualty insurer Travelers Cos., rose strongly after it said core income categories like investments and premiums written rose. The stock shot up $1.64, or 2.2 percent, to $77.95, an all-time closing high. Travelers has risen nearly 27 percent over the past 12 months. The results were still better than analysts were expecting. Delta rose 40 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $14.01. Tech behemoths Google and IBM reported solid earnings gains after the market closed. Google soared after saying its fourth-quarter earnings rose 7 percent as online advertisers spent more money in pursuit of holiday shoppers. The stock gained $29.13, or 4.1 percent, to $732 in after-hours trading. IBM said its net income rose 6 percent. The stock rose $6.82, or 3.5 percent, to $202.90 in late trading. Apple reports after the bell Wednesday. Freight rail companies are another key category at this stage in the economic recovery. They are seen as a proxy for the broader economy because their results track the demand for transportation of materials used in manufacturing and goods sold to consumers and businesses. Two big railroads reported after the closing bell. CSX gained 74 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $21.55 in after-hours trading after beating analysts' expectations. Norfolk Southern rose $1.05, or 1.6 percent, to $67.99 after the bell. Lennar Corp. fell a penny to $42.07. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. lost 6 cents to $6.24. Benchmark oil rose 62 cents to $96.66 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as global economic reports remained generally positive.