* Oil drops over $3/barrel, easing consumer fears
* Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Caterpillar lift the Dow
* Apple leads tech sell-off on poor outlook
* Dow up 1.2 pct, S&P up 1.4 pct Nasdaq up 1.1 pct
(Updates to close)
By Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose more than 1
percent on Tuesday as oil prices slid over $3 a barrel, taking
the edge off a raft of disappointing earnings from American
Express <AXP.N> and others as well as a weak outlook from iPod
maker Apple.
Oil, which last week had its biggest weekly decline ever,
lost 2.4 percent in New York as the U.S. dollar rose, easing
some worries about the impact of higher energy costs on
consumers and businesses.
Consumer stocks like Coca-Cola <KO.N> and Wal-Mart <WMT.N>
and airlines -- all sensitive to higher fuel costs -- gained
as oil prices tumbled. An index of airline stocks <.XAL>
surged 22 percent.
The drop in oil prices dominated investor attention even
as several big U.S. companies reported results that reflected
that consumers are struggling. Even companies more
dependent on wealthier consumers, such as American Express
<AXP.N>, suffered. The credit card company's stock, a Dow
component, plunged 7.1 percent.
There were some bright spots on the earnings front:
Caterpillar <CAT.N> shares rose 2.4 percent to $74.98 after
the maker of heavy construction equipment posted a
stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.
"Again it's the drop in energy prices helping the market
-- the market was down quite a bit after the earnings last
night, and then caught a bid with the drop in oil prices,"
said Frank Husic, chief investment officer at Husic Capital
Management in San Francisco.
"There is a concern the whole world is going to slow and
with the slowdown will come poorer times for oil."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 135.16
points, or 1.18 percent, to 11,602.50, while the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> ended up 17.00 points, or 1.35
percent, at 1,277.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was
up 24.43 points, or 1.07 percent, at 2,303.96.
Oil prices fell to a six-week low amid concerns over
sliding U.S. energy demand and expectations that a tropical
storm pushing through the Gulf of Mexico would spare most
offshore oil production.
Shares of Apple <AAPL.O> fell 2.6 percent to $162.02 and
were the top drag on the Nasdaq after the maker of the iPod
and the iPhone said late on Monday its current quarter
earnings will be well below Wall Street's targets.
Coca-Cola shares gained 3.5 percent to $51.35 on the New
York Stock Exchange, while Wal-Mart rose 3.1 percent to
$59.06.
Shares of General Electric Co <GE.N> rose 2.9 percent to
$28.50 after the conglomerate and Abu Dhabi investment agency
Mubadala Development Co said they had entered into an $8
billion joint venture. [].
Wachovia <WB.N> initially dropped more than 10 percent
after the fourth-largest U.S. bank said it would slash its
dividend, but shares rebounded when the company said it did
not plan to sell new shares to raise capital. Wachovia's stock
ended up 27.4 percent at $16.79.
Trading was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with
about 1.57 billion shares changing hands, below last year's
estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on
Nasdaq, about 2.56 billion shares traded, above last year's
daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by 2 to 1 on
both the NYSE and the Nasdaq.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
