国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks end slightly higher ahead of earning season

NEW YORK, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. stocks ended slightly higher on Monday as investors avoided making big bets ahead of the earning season.

There are no major economic data scheduled for release on Monday. Investors are cautiously awaiting Alcoa to report its second-quarter results after the market close, which officially kicks off a new earning season.

As the market was unnerved by the latest string of downbeat macroeconomic data, earnings may paint a clearer picture of how strong a company is performing.

After-hours trade data showed that the stock of Alcoa turned positive after the company revealed earnings, which showed the aluminum producer swung to profit in the second quarter despite a recent drop in aluminum prices.

According to Alcoa, its net income was 136 million dollars, or 13 cents a share, compared with a loss of 454 million dollars, or 47 cents a share in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 22 percent to 5.2 billion dollars, higher than analysts' estimate.

Meanwhile, the company also raised its 2010 projection for aluminum consumption from 10 percent to 12 percent "based on this improved end-market demand."

Other big names scheduled to release their results this week include banking giants JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., General Electric Co. and chipmaker Intel Corp.

Earnings are likely to dominate trading for the next few weeks. Investors are trying to get more clues about the wider economy from corporative perspective. They are focusing not only on the performance of the companies during the April-June period, but also the companies' forecasts for the coming quarters. What's more important, investors are eager to see whether sluggish retail sales, waning consumer confidence and high unemployment have actually hurt corporate profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 18.24 points, or 0.18 percent, to 10,216.27. The Standard & Poor's 500 index inched up 0. 79 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,078.75 while the Nasdaq was up 1. 91 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,198.36.