A crop of better-than-expected earnings reports drove stocks higher today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 78 points, or 0.62%, while the S&P 500 increased 10 points for a 0.74% gain. The gains came despite what many considered a dissappointing first day of congressional testimony out of Ben Bernanke. His failure to hint at a more accommodative tone toward monetary stimulus weighed on markets initially, but the favorable earnings reports prevailed at the end of the day.

After the close, Dow component Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) reported earnings of $0.54 relative to expectations of $0.52, but it also offered revenue guidance for the third quarter that was $300 million below expectations at the midpoint. Fellow tech giant IBM (NYSE: IBM) reports earnings tomorrow, and in the following video, Brenton explains how its report has the potential to really move the market, specifically the Dow Jones Industrials.

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