12:03 PM EDT, 07/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- All three major US stock indexes were trading higher at midday Tuesday as investors digested various economic data and big-name earnings results.

The National Association of Home Builders' monthly housing market index fell to a reading of 42 in July from 43 in June.

US retail sales held steady in June following the previous month's 0.3% gain.

US import prices held steady while export prices dropped by 0.5% in June following declines of 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively, in May.

Business inventories rose 0.5% in May following a 0.3% increase in the previous month.

In company news, Bank of America ( BAC ) reported Q2 earnings Tuesday of $0.83 per diluted share, down from $0.88 a year earlier. Net revenue, expressed as the sum of net interest income and total noninterest income, was $25.38 billion, up from $25.20 billion a year earlier. The company's shares were up 4.8% in midday trading.

Morgan Stanley ( MS ) said its Q2 earnings rose to $1.82 per diluted share from $1.24 and net revenue climbed to $15.02 billion from $13.46 billion a year earlier. The company also said its board raised its quarterly dividend to $0.925 per share, payable Aug. 15 to shareholders of record as of July 31. Shares of Morgan Stanley ( MS ) were up 2%.

Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) shares slid 9.1% after it reported that its Q2 adjusted earnings fell to $0.73 per diluted share from $0.75 a year earlier.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) said its Q2 adjusted earnings increased to $6.80 per share from $6.14 and revenue rose to $98.86 billion from $92.90 billion a year earlier. Shares of UnitedHealth ( UNH ) were up 5%.

In other news, UK regulators said Tuesday they are launching a preliminary investigation of Microsoft's ( MSFT ) licensing deal with AI startup Inflection. Shares of Microsoft ( MSFT ) were down 1.1%.

Price: 43.74, Change: +1.85, Percent Change: +4.42