Wall Street gains as earnings flow in; Alcoa up

(AP) Stocks are rising on Wall Street after U.S. corporate earnings reports got off to a strong start.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 86 points to 13,414 at midday Wednesday. The Dow is coming off of two days of losses.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose six to 1,463 and the Nasdaq composite rose 18 to 3,110.

Alcoa rose 1 percent after the company predicted rising demand for aluminum this year as the aerospace industry gains strength. Late Tuesday the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat analysts' forecasts. Alcoa is the first company in the Dow average to report earnings each quarter.

Helen of Troy, whose brands include Dr. Scholl's, Vicks and Fabreze, rose 3 percent after reporting a 15 percent increase in income.

European markets rose.