NEW YORK, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street stocks jumped Tuesday after a number of companies reported strong earnings, with the DowJones industrial average posting for its best showing of the year.

    The Dow Jones industrial average rose 92.95 points, or 0.9 percent, to 10,461.56 points. The Nasdaq composite index gained 11.25 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,019.95 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 4.66 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,168.41 points.

    On Tuesday, a number of companies, which included Merrill Lynch& Co. Inc. and US Steel Corp., posted strong earnings records. Strong company earnings, combined with a strong consumer confidence reading from the Conference Board, boosted investor' lagging confidence and sent stocks sharply higher.

    However, some analysts said the market's gains appeared to be somewhat deceptive. Declining stocks outnumbered advancers by a slim margin on the New York Stock Exchange.

    Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. climbed 1.19 dollars to 57.99 dollars after surpassing market's profits expectations, DuPont Co. rose 57cents to 46.58 dollars as the chemical maker beat analysts' earnings estimates after one-time charges, and Ford Motor Co. added 16 cents to 13.13 dollars despite saying its first-quarter profits would fall well below current market forecasts.

    Pharmaceutical companies posted a best day. Merck & Co. gained 1.10 dollars to 30.95 dollars after its earnings met market's expectations, and Johnson & Johnson jumped 2.23 dollars to 63.72 dollars after beating market's earnings estimates.

    US Steel Corp. added 79 cents to 51.16 dollars after swinging to profits for the fourth quarter.

    Pharmaceutical service provider AmerisourceBergen Corp. fell 1.05 dollars to 56.52 dollars after seeing its profits fall 41 percent for the fourth quarter.

    On the NYSE, the trading volume was heavy at 2.03 billion shares.

    Meanwhile, in late New York trading, the euro was traded at 1.2962 dollars, down from 1.3048 dollars late Monday. The British pound was quoted at 1.8636 dollars, down from 1.8793 dollars late Monday. The dollar rose to 104.23 yen from 102.72, to 1.1951 Swissfrancs from 1.1851, and to 1.2373 Canadian dollars from 1.2244. Enditem