Stocks Get Lift From Yuan Talk

Stocks staged a rally Monday that many pundits had trouble explaining. Blue chips added about 1% despite weak data on New York-area economic activity and a report that showed foreigners' taste for U.S. assets waned in March.

One early rationale for yesterday's run-up was falling oil, but that catalyst ebbed as the session progressed; June crude ended Monday down just 6 cents at $48.61. The contract rose 36 cents to close at $48.97 a barrel Tuesday.

Falling oil hurt major oil stocks Monday. On Tuesday, A.G. Edwards upgraded Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote) to buy from hold, saying recent weakness has created a buying opportunity. The brokerage set a $60 price target on the stock, which was recently up 51 cents, or 1%, to $53.86. Meanwhile, Forest Oil (FST Quote) rose 4.1% after Banc of America Securities upgraded its shares, adding $1.44 to $36.64.

Some of Tuesday's early trepidation may have been the result of concerns about quarterly earnings from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote). After the bell, the hardware giant reported second-quarter net income of $966 million, or 33 cents a share, up from $884 million, or 29 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue climbed 7% to $21.57 billion. Excluding one-time costs, H-P earned 37 cents a share. H-P was expected to report an operating profit of 36 cents a share on sales of $21.3 billion. Shares of H-P closed up 54 cents, or 2.6%, to $21.55.

Among corporate news Tuesday, Home Depot (HD Quote) said first-quarter earnings rose 16% from a year ago to $1.2 billion, or 57 cents a share, beating estimates. At $19 billion, sales were about $300 million below Wall Street forecasts. Shares rose $1.49, or 4%, to $38.86.

Two other big retailers reported penny-beats in first-quarter earnings Tuesday: BJ's Wholesale (BJ Quote) and Staples (SPLS Quote). Staples also affirmed guidance for the full year. BJ's Wholesale added $1.29, or 4.5%, to $29.59, and Staples was up by $1.02, or 5%, to finish at $21.56.