US stocks rise as earnings season kicks off

The three major indices of US stocks rose today with the start of the quarterly earnings season as Citigroup, Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley topped the quarterly earnings estimates. The small Russell 2000 index rose about 1.5%, Bank of America shares rose about 4%, and UnitedHealth Group Inc (UN.N) rose 4.2% after the health insurer announced its results and raised its adjusted earnings forecast for the full year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 542.25 points, or 1.58%, to 34,920.06 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 75.07 points, or 1.72%, to 4438.87 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 255.23 points, or 1.75%, to 14,826.87 points.