NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks extended a rally in morning trading Tuesday ahead of reports that will show whether the economic recovery is picking up its pace.
Automakers such as General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. will report December and year-end sales figures throughout the day. Analysts are forecasting a modest increase that could show that customers bought more vehicles in 2010 than in 2009, when sales plummeted to their lowest levels since 1982.
Separately, the Commerce Department will issue its report on November factory orders. Analysts expect that orders dipped 0.1 percent, after falling 0.9 percent in October. Much of the decline in October reflected a drop in demand for aircraft.
In morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 3 points, or 0.1 percent, to 11,672. The Standard and Poor's 500-stock index gained 2, or 0.1 percent, to 1,272. The Nasdaq composite rose 4, or 0.2 percent, to 2,695.
Alcoa Inc. jumped 4.2 percent to $16.47 to lead the 30 stocks that make up the Dow index. McDonald's Corp. had the largest fall, losing 1.2 percent to $75.47.
The dollar was flat compared against an index of six heavily traded currencies.
The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its December policy meeting this afternoon. Investors will likely scour the report for any clues that show how members of the Fed view its current bond-buying program, a monetary policy known as quantitative easing. The program -- which entails buying bonds in hopes of stimulating the economy -- was left unchanged at the meeting.
Stocks overseas posted significant gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei index each rose by 1 percent or more. European shares continued to climb as well. The Euro Stoxx 50 index, which tracks blue chip companies in countries that use the euro, jumped 1.5 percent.
The stock market started 2011 with a big lift on Monday. The S&P 500, the market index followed by most professional investors, finished 1.1 percent higher after reports showed that manufacturing activity and construction spending each rose more than analysts were predicting.
Bond prices rose slightly on Tuesday, sending yields down. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.32 percent from 3.34 percent late Monday.
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