U.S. stocks rise despite weak economic data

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

NEW YORK, Jan. 27 (Chinese media) -- U.S. stocks edged up

Tuesday on some better-than-expected earnings, but pulled back from the day's

high as U.S. consumer confidence hit record low.

A series of upbeat earnings results shored up the

stocks in the early trading. U.S. Steel reported Monday that its fourth-quarter

earnings have soared following the company's acquisition.

Meanwhile, American Express Co., the biggest U.S.

credit-card company by purchases, posted a drop of 79 percent in fourth-quarter

profit, which still topped the most pessimistic estimates.

But stocks gave up some of the early gains as the

Conference Board, a New York-based research institution, reported a record low

of U.S. consumer confidence.

January Consumer Confidence Index fell to 37.7 from a

revised 38.6 in December, worse than the economists had expected and is the

lowest level since the index began recording in 1967.

The Standard Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index

of home prices released Tuesday tumbled by a record 18.2 percent from November

2007, the largest decline since its inception in 2000.

Also limiting gains is the news that Dow component

DuPont Co. posted a loss and trimmed its full-year 2009 forecast. DuPont shares

fell 3.1 percent to 22.46 U.S. dollars.

Investors are focused at what new measures the

Federal Reserve would take to fight against the credit crisis as the Fed's

monetary policy setting Federal Open Market Committee began a two-day meeting on

Tuesday.

Economists expect the U.S. central bank will leave

benchmark interest rates unchanged at zero to 0.25 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 58.70 points,

or 0.72 percent, to 8,174.73. The Standard Poor's 500 Index gained 9.13

points, or 1.09 percent, to 845.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 15.44

points, or 1.04 percent, to 1,504.90.