Blue Chips Gain 103 Points
NEW YORK--Investors pushed stocks sharply higher, erasing all of July's losses, as investors reacted to strong corporate earnings and continued hopes for central-bank intervention.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 103.16 points, or 0.81%, to 12908.70, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index tacked on 9.11 points, or 0.67%, to 1372.78--bringing that index to within a hair of a fresh two-month high. The Nasdaq Composite outpaced the other two measures as technology stocks soared, adding 32.56 points, or 1.12%, to 2942.60.</br></br>With Wednesday's gains, all three major indexes are now in positive territory for July.</br></br>Intel led the gains among Dow components, rising after the blue-chip semiconductor maker topped earnings expectations, though it also lowered its full-year revenue-growth outlook, citing a more challenging macroeconomic environment. Strong earnings from VMWare and EMC also supported the sector. The top five gainers on the Dow were all tech names, led by Intel, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, International Business Machines and Hewlett-Packard.</br></br>Industrial stocks were also strong, after Honeywell International reported second-quarter earnings that were above estimates and raised the lower end of the range of its full-year earnings outlook. Honeywell rose, while fellow industrial giants United Technologies and Boeing also increased.