Stocks jumped yesterday on one of the busiest days of the earnings-reporting season, as investors looked past mixed quarterly results and held out hope for improving growth for Corporate America.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 134.27 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 10,606.39, putting it at the highest finish in nearly a month, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 38.21 points to 2,067.33. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 added 11.99 points, or 1 per cent, at 1,214.44.

Wall Street's mood got a boost from some companies whose deteriorating results still managed to meet or beat analysts' estimates. These included Dow component Caterpillar, which jumped 3.2 per cent, or $3.18, to $53.55, and photography giant Eastman Kodak, which met expectations by reporting a 36.6 per cent drop in profits, reflecting weaker sales of cameras and film. Its shares rose $1.33 to $46.03.