* Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson lift stocks
* Indexes up: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.3 pct, Nasdaq 0.4 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to open)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday, led higher after Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson reported solid earnings.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
Healthcare company Johnson & Johnson
"It is kind of nice to see a couple of big headline companies come in with positive surprises after a string of headline companies delivering negative surprises over the last week," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
"Investors really are going to be focusing on earnings and trying to get a read on guidance -- guidance is going to be the name of the game right now."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 45.26 points, or 0.37 percent, to 12,246.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 4.41 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,309.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 9.73 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,745.11.
Companies also scheduled to report quarterly results later
on Tuesday include Intel Corp