Stocks head higher

Stocks headed higher on Wall Street Tuesday with support coming mainly from abroad. Stocks were up in Asia and Europe, as China said its gross domestic product rose 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter, a better-than-expected figure. In Europe, an auction of short-term government bonds was met with strong demand in France despite Standard & Poor's Inc. downgrading the country's credit rating on Friday. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 102.02 points, 0.82 percent, to 12,524.08. The S&P 500 index gained 9.52 points, 0.74 percent, to 1,298.61. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 27.95 points, 1.03 percent, to 2,738.62. The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 1/32 to yield 1.857 percent. The euro rose to $1.2736 from $1.2667. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 76.83 yen from 76.79 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.05 percent, 88.04, to 8,466.40. In London, the FTSE 100 index added 0.65 percent, 36.61, to 5,693.95.