Banks Leading Stocks Higher

(AP) -- Banks and other financial companies are leading U.S. stock indexes into record territory in midday trading Thursday. Investors are poring over earnings from Kellogg, Viacom and other companies. Energy stocks are also up as the price of crude oil heads higher. Utilities and real estate are lagging the market.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 132 points, or 0.7 percent, to 20,187 as of 12:21 p.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 13 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,308. The Nasdaq composite index added 35 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,717. All three indexes were trading above their latest record high closes.

THE QUOTE: "The earnings season is turning out to be pretty good," said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management. "We're starting to see some real earnings growth."

STOP THE PRESSES: Gannett jumped 7.1 percent after the publisher of USA Today and other newspapers turned in better-than expected earnings. The stock picked up 62 cents to $9.32.

TUNED IN: Traders welcomed Viacom's latest quarterly results and the media giant's plans to turn its business around. The owner of BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and the Paramount film studio gained $1.43, or 3.4 percent, at $43.51.

TASTY RESULTS: Kellogg rose 4 percent after the company served up earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations. The stock added $2.92 to $76.41.

YUM, INDEED: Restaurant operator Yum Brands was 1.5 percent higher after it delivered better-than-expected earnings as stronger U.S. sales at KFC and Taco Bell offset weakness at the company's Pizza Hut chain. The stock gained $1 to $67.60.

GOOD BREW: Dunkin' Brands climbed 4.5 percent after its earnings beat financial analysts' expectations. The stock was up $2.31 at $54.29.

TWEET THIS: Twitter slumped 10.2 percent after the social media company's latest quarterly earnings, which topped analyst expectations, were overshadowed by a weak profit forecast. The stock slid $1.91 to $16.81.

FIZZLED: Coca-Cola fell 2.3 percent after its profit fell 55 percent in the most recent quarter. The stock lost 99 cents to $41.04.

UGLY RESULTS: Coty tumbled 8.7 percent after the beauty products maker's latest quarterly results fell short of Wall Street's estimates. The stock skidded $1.73 to $18.31.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany's DAX was up 0.9 percent, while France's CAC 40 was 1.3 percent higher. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index slid 0.5 percent ahead of meetings Friday between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald Trump. Most other regional benchmarks notched gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.2 percent, while the Kospi in South Korea was almost flat. Australia's S&P ASX/200 rose 0.2 percent. Shares in Southeast Asia were mostly higher.

OIL & GAS: Benchmark U.S. crude was up 63 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $52.97 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, was up 53 cents, or 1 percent, at $55.65 a barrel in London. Natural gas futures were flat at $3.13 per 1,000 cubic feet.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 113.17 yen from 112.05 on Wednesday. The euro fell to $1.0660 from $1.0687.

TREASURY YIELDS: Bond prices fell. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.38 percent from 2.34 percent late Wednesday.

(KA)