Wall Street Continues Election Day Climb

A series of solid corporate earnings results were bolstering investor enthusiasm. Following Monday's close, credit-card company MasterCard (MA Quote) took a net loss on charges related to its settlement of a legal scuffle with Discover Financial Services (DFS Quote). Excluding the charge, however, MasterCard's earnings trumped the Street's forecasts.

Meanwhile, energy company Anadarko Petroleum (APC Quote) reported that third-quarter profit climbed year over year and beat analyst estimates.

Farm products maker Archer Daniels Midland (ADM Quote) reported profit that more than doubled year over year.

Pharmacy operator Walgreen (WAG Quote) announced Tuesday that its October same-store sales climbed 2% year over year.

Media firm Viacom (VIA Quote) wasn't so fortunate, as its earnings dropped 37% year over year.

In the technology arena, cell-phone maker Nokia (NOK Quote) announced that it will cut an estimated 450 jobs as it restructures its operations.

A series of reports on the state of the financial sector revealed a mixed bag. Ahead of the trading day, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Treasury Department is mulling taking equity positions in financial companies beyond banks and insurers. According to the report in the Journal, General Electric's (GE Quote) GE Capital segment and CIT Group (CIT Quote) are among businesses that may become eligible.

A Goldman Sachs (GS Quote) hedge fund lost $989 million since January, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Elsewhere in the financials, Swiss bank UBS (UBS Quote) announced it swung to a profit for the third quarter. The profitable quarter follows four straight earnings periods marked by losses on writedowns tied to mortgage securities.