NEW YORK: US stocks advanced early Tuesday, extending a positive stretch following generally solid earnings as a new bitcoin security successfully debuted on Wall Street.

A heavy week of earnings results accelerated with good reports from Dow members Travelers and Procter & Gamble, even as the latter said higher commodity and transportation costs hit profit margins.

"We have a market settled in, looking at the earnings results," said Art Hogan, chief strategist at National Securities. "Last week was all about the banks. This week is a broader spectrum of reporters and so far, so good."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 percent at 35,397.81 in mid-morning trading.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to 4,507.93 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 percent to 15,076.43.

The Bitcoin Strategy ETF, a new vehicle launched by ProShares Tuesday, rose 3.1 percent to $41.22 in its first session on the New York Stock Exchange.

The exchange-traded fund, which is linked to bitcoin futures rather than directly to the digital currency, trades under the ticker "BITO" and bills itself as an accessible investment vehicle for mainstream shareholders.

While earnings and the bitcoin vehicle took center stage, US government data showed home construction slowed in September on a sharp drop off in building of apartments.

Housing projects started last month fell 1.6 percent compared to August to an annual rate of 1.55 million units, seasonally adjusted, the Commerce Department reported.