U.S. stocks rise on Alcoa earnings; Dow Jones up 0.43%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, boosted by Alcoa's upbeat earnings report, although fresh concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone weighed.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.43%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.26%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.20%.

Markets were jittery after official data showed that industrial production inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in November, compared to expectations for a 1% increase.

Separately, the European Central Bank was widely expected to hold off cutting rates following Thursday’s policy meeting, but some market participants expected the bank to flag the possibility of rate cuts later in the year.

Investors also remained cautious amid concerns about continuing political wrangling in Washington over further budget cuts and raising the U.S. debt ceiling.

Alcoa climbed 0.66% after the U.S. aluminum producer kicked off earnings season on Tuesday by saying it swung to a fourth-quarter profit and expects global aluminum demand to grow 7% in 2013, compared with 6% in 2012.

In the tech sector, Microsoft rose 0.32% following reports the company has sold 60 million licenses and upgrades for its new Windows 8 operating system in the 10 weeks since its launch.

Apple trended lower on the other hand, tumbling 1.08% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the tech giant is working on a lower-end iPhone.

Elsewhere, financial stocks were mostly higher. Shares in Goldman Sachs advanced 0.46% and JP Morgan climbed 0.68%, while Citigroup jumped 0.92%. Bank of America underperformed however, dropping 0.42%.

Separately, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were said to be among a group of banks expected to agree as soon as this week to a USD1.5 billion settlement with federal regulators over botched foreclosure claims. Shares in Morgan Stanley were up 0.41% after the news.

In the insurance sector, American International Group added 0.34% after the group said on Tuesday it is considering joining a lawsuit that claims the bailout terms were unfair, drawing accusations from lawmakers.

Other stocks in focus included warehouse club operator PriceSmart, due to post earnings after the closing bell.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.41%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.23%, Germany's DAX rose 0.30%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.76%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.46%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.67%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on crude oil stockpiles.