NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Better-than-expected earnings and powerful gains in the stock of technology bellwether IBM were enough to inspire a rally on Wall Street Tuesday, driving most major market indicators to new records at the close of a choppy trading session.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 43.10 points higher at 9,184.94, a new all-time high. On the New York Stock Exchange, advances led declines 1,561 to 1,371 on trading volume of 679 million shares.
Other markets also scored records, with the Nasdaq Composite climbing 16.73 to 1,903.87 and the S&P 500 index rising 2.69 to 1,126.34. (Look here for the performance of widely held stocks.)
"The market continues to show incredible resiliency," said Gerold Klauer, vice chairman of Gerard Klauer Mattison. (122K WAV) or (122K AIFF)
The bond market fell, pressured by a large supply of corporate debt expected to hit the market throughout the week, as well as hawkish comments by a Federal Reserve governor. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond fell 13/32 of a point in price, raising the yield to 5.95 percent.
The dollar dropped against the mark amid fears that interest rates in Germany might be headed higher. The greenback fell against the yen as speculation lingered in the market that the Bank of Japan could intervene in support of its currency later this week.
Earnings dominate the market
Trading in stocks once again focused on first-quarter corporate bottom lines as a new series of earnings reports hit the market.
Leading the pack, shares of IBM (IBM) rose 6-13/16 to 118 after hitting an all-time high of 118-1/2 as investors cheered its slightly better-than-expected results. Late Monday, IBM said it earned $1.06 a share in the first quarter, down from $1.16 last year, but a penny higher than Wall Street had expected.
Banking stocks shared the spotlight, with several major players in the merger-swept sector reporting strong results. Shares of Chase Manhattan (CMB) rose 4-7/16 to 139-1/8 after the company reported diluted operating earnings of $2.35 per share, up from $2.02 a year earlier, and well ahead of market forecasts for $2.26.
Shares of Citicorp (CCI), which is about to join forces with Travelers Group (TRV) in the largest corporate merger of all time, rose 2-1/4 to 160-1/4. Citicorp reported an 11 percent increase in first-quarter earnings per diluted share to $2.23 from $2.01 a year earlier. The company's results beat Wall Street expectations by a penny.
Not all earnings news inspired such a positive response from investors, however, and the stock of CDW Computer Centers (CDWC) saw 9-13/16, or more than 16 percent, shed off its value, to a price of 51-1/16, even after reporting first-quarter earnings of 68 cents a share, beating expectations by a penny. The direct marketer of microcomputer products, which saw its stock soar Monday in expectation of the strong results, was the leading net loser on the Nasdaq.
In other news, shares of Telxon Corp. (TLXN) rallied 4-7/16, or more than 16 percent, to 32-1/8 after the maker of battery-operated computers received an unsolicited, $38-per-share takeover bid from Symbol Technologies (SBL). Telxon has not yet responded to the offer.
Finally, shares of Market Guide (MARG) soared 15-1/16, or almost 190 percent, to 23, adding to strong gains from Monday when the financial information company announced it would provide data on America Online (AOL). 
-- by staff writer Malina Poshtova Zang
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