New York, Oct 18 (IANS): US stocks closed higher, as the market was underpinned by a series of robust corporate earnings, supporting investor sentiment previously dampened by weakening US retail sales.

The Dow rose 0.09 per cent to 27,025.88, the S&P 500 increased 0.28 per cent to 2,997.95, and the Nasdaq increased 0.40 per cent to 8,156.85, Xinhua news agency reported.

More than half of the blue-chip stocks in the Dow extended gains around midday, with shares of UnitedHealth Group and Walgreens Boots Alliance both up nearly 1.6 per cent and nearly 1.5 per cent, leading the winners.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher around midday, with the health care sector up 0.8 per cent, leading the losers.

Another batch of companies continued to underpin the market with stronger-than-expected earnings in the third quarter, including Netfilx and Morgan Stanley, which extended gains of nearly 3.9 per cent and over 2.4 per cent respectively around midday.

So far, over 76 percent of the S&P 500 companies have reported earnings results that beat market estimates, according to FactSet.