The Chicago Tribune Bill Barnhart Market Report column.

Byline: Bill Barnhart

Jul. 19--Stocks edged higher Tuesday, reflecting upbeat earnings news from Coca-Cola and United Technologies, two components of the Dow Jones industrial average. But major retailers slumped after Target trimmed its forecast for July sales. Commodity prices, including oil and gold, eased, as optimism continued about a settlement of the current hostilities in the Middle East. Treasury securities slipped on news of a bigger-than-expected increase in June wholesale prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 51.87 points, to 10,799.23. Coca-Cola, which gained 85 cents, to $43.55, and United Technologies, up 92 cents, to $58.88, led the gain. The Standard & Poor's 500 index ended a four-day losing streak, closing up 2.37, at 1236.86. Target was the biggest loser in the S&P 500 index. Shares dropped $2.02, to $45.53. The Nasdaq composite index gained 5.50, to 2043.22. The Russell 2000 small-company index added 3.95, to 681.64. After the close of regular New York trading, International Business Machines posted upbeat quarterly results. Shares of Internet service provider Yahoo fell in late trading, reflecting a disappointing quarterly sales report issued late in the day. New York Stock Exchange volume reached 1.69 billion shares. NYSE winners beat losers by a 6-5 ratio. Nasdaq volume totaled 1.99 billion shares, as advancing issues narrowly outpaced decliners. Crude oil for August delivery fell $1.76 a barrel, to $73.54. Gold for August delivery dropped $22.40 an ounce, to $629.50.

Local news: Goldman Sachs issued a "buy" rating on Oak Brook-based McDonald's, reflecting strong results in the restaurant chain's latest quarterly forecast. Shares rose 9 cents, to $34.81. - Morgan Stanley boosted its rating on WMS Industries, a Waukegan-based maker of video lottery terminals, to "overweight" from "equal weight." Shares jumped $1.41, to $26.14. - Industrial supplies distributor W.W. Grainger, Lake Forest, dropped for a second day after releasing a weak sales outlook on Monday. An analyst at Robert W. Baird downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "outperform." Shares, which dropped $10 on Monday, fell $2 on Tuesday, to $61.

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TICKER SYMBOL(S): NYSE:UTX, NYSE:TGT, NYSE:IBM, NASDAQ-NMS:YHOO, NYSE:GS, NYSE:MCD, NYSE:MS, NYSE:WMS, NYSE:GWW