US stock markets beat Apple, Citi fears

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 50.55 points (0.43 per cent) to finish at 11,837.93, while the broad-market S&P 500 index gained 1.78 points (0.14 per cent) to 1,295.02.

Meanwhile the tech-rich Nasdaq added 10.55 points (0.38 per cent) at 2,765.85.

Blue-chip stocks were "well-entrenched in the green in afternoon action, courtesy of strength in industrials and materials," and despite a poor showing in the tech sector and financials, said analysts at Charles Schwab.

Apple shares slumped six percent in early trade a day after chief executive Steve Jobs announced he was taking another medical leave of absence.

Shares later pared some of those losses, trading down 2.3 per cent at the close, but traders expressed angst about who might fill Jobs's shoes.

Citigroup also saw sharp losses, as it reported fourth-quarter and full 2010 earnings which missed traders' expectations.

Citigroup announced it had returned to profit in 2010, after a turbulent period for what was once the world's largest bank, but falling revenues and continued troubles at Citi Holdings clouded the picture.

Citi's shares were down 6.4 per cent.

Shares in Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase also sold lower.

Shares in Boeing rose 3.4 per cent after it announced a postponement of the February target date for delivering its first 787 Dreamliner aircraft to the third quarter of 2011.

Alcoa shares rose 1.9 per cent as it signed a deal with energy group China Power Investment Corporation for projects worth a possible $7.5 billion.

Delta Air Lines traded down 8.2 per cent after posting $593 million in net profit for 2010, below analysts' expectations.

The bond market fell. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 3.364 per cent from 3.333 per cent late Friday, while the 30-year bond yielded 4.561 per cent, up from 4.531 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.