NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street in early trading Wednesday after U.S. corporate earnings reports got off to a strong start.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75 points to 13,403 after the first hour of trading. The Dow is coming off of two days of losses.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose six to 1,463 and the Nasdaq composite rose 16 to 3,108.

Alcoa predicted rising demand for aluminum this year as the aerospace industry gains strength. Late Tuesday the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat analysts' forecasts. Investors pay close attention to Alcoa's results and forecasts because the aluminum it makes is used in so many industries including construction and manufacturing.

Consumer products maker Helen of Troy, whose brands include Dr. Scholl's, Vicks and Fabreze, rose 71 cents to $34.24 after reporting a 15 percent increase in net income.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 1.87 percent. The dollar edged higher against the euro and crude oil rose 13 cents to $93.28 a barrel.

European markets also rose. Benchmark indexes rose 1 percent in Britain and 2 percent in Italy. Germany's DAX rose 0.4 percent and France's CAC-40 rose 0.3 percent.

Among other stocks making big moves:

— Wireless network operator Clearwire jumped 22 cents to $3.14 after Dish network made an unsolicited offer to buy the company, which has already agreed to sell itself to Sprint. Dish rose 95 cents to $36.91 and Sprint fell 10 cents to $5.87.

— Online education company Apollo Group plunged 10 percent after reporting a sharp decline in fall-term student sign-ups at the University of Phoenix. The stock fell $2.12 to $18.82.