S&P 500 breaches 2100 as oil, earnings drive gains

The Dow Jones industrial average stayed above 18,000, a day after crossing the key psychological barrier for the first time since July, on rising optimism that corporate earnings would continue to beat tempered expectations. Only the Nasdaq composite edged lower, weighed by a 25 percent slide in Illumina. First-quarter earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to fall 7.7 percent on average, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.