US stocks finish higher

US stocks on Tuesday finished higher after mixed economic data and corporate earnings as a two-day US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting got under way. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86.63 (0.53 per cent) to 16,535.37. The broad-based S&P 500 added 8.90 (0.48%) at 1,878.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tacked on 29.14 (0.72%) to 4,103.54. Some tech stocks such as Facebook (+3.6%) and Netflix (1.8%) that fell on Monday scored solid gains. “I think we’re still in this pattern of one day up and one day down,” said Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management. The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence dipped to 82.3 in April, below the 83.6 forecast by analysts, according to AFP.