U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, adding to the previous day's gains, as strong earnings reports from health insurer Aetna Inc. and hotel chain Marriott International Inc., boosted demand for equities. Aetna posted a 41 percent rise in quarterly profit and raised its full-year profit outlook, while Marriott said higher room rates pushed quarterly profit up 25 percent. Aetna rose 5 percent to $100.99 on the New York Stock Exchange and Marriott gained 3.3 percent to $68.26. Shares of computer services company Electronic Data Systems Corp. rose 1.4 percent to $25.88 after the company reported higher quarterly net profit and revenue. "Earnings this morning were pretty good and the tone in the stock market is positive," said Evan Olsen, head of equity trading at Stephens Inc. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 62.03 points, or 0.57 percent, at 10,920.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.86 points, or 0.46 percent, at 1,271.51. And the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 14.78 points, or 0.65 percent, at 2,281.76. On Wednesday, both the Dow and Nasdaq rallied, gaining more than 1 percent. Earnings reports are also expected from MetLife Inc. and Aon Corp. on Thursday. --More 22 39 Local Time 19 39 GMT
