US stocks mostly higher after mixed earnings

Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher Tuesday following mixed corporate earnings news and higher US retail sales in March.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,039.37, up 62.33 points (0.35 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 3.68 (0.18 percent) to 2,096.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 10.96 (0.22 percent) to 4,977.29.

Earnings from large banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo exceeded expectations.

But analysts said a lower profit forecast from health-care giant Johnson & Johnson due to the strong dollar underscored fears that the greenback will hurt multinationals as more companies report in the coming weeks.

US retail sales rebounded in March from a three-month slump, rising 0.9 percent. However, the report was slightly below the 1.0 percent gain projected by analysts.