U.S. stocks broke a four-day losing streak on Tuesday, jutting higher on strong earnings reports and positive consumer confidence data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average logged its best percentage gain since Dec. 21, rising 92.95, or 0.9 percent, to 10,461.56. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 4.66, or 0.4 percent, at 1,168.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 11.25, or 0.6 percent, to 2,019.95.

U.S. consumer confidence rose for the second month in a row in January. The Conference Board, a New York-based business information group, reported that its index of consumer confidence rose by 0.7 points to 103.4 in January, up from a revised 102.7 in December.

Strong earnings were reported by Merrill Lynch & Co., which posted a record year, and U.S. Steel Corp., which swung to a profit. DuPont also bested expectations.

Locally, shares of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. jumped 10.4 percent to $49.40 after the Pasadena-based engineering and construction services firm reported slightly lower quarterly earnings, but reaffirmed its 2005 earnings forecast on an increasing work load.

Jacobs reported net income of $32.5 million (56 cents per diluted share) for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $33.8 million (59 cents) for the like year-ago period. The company stood by its earlier forecast calling for a full-year profit ranging from $2.40 to $2.70 a share, and quarterly profit in the range of 58 cents to 63 cents a share for the second quarter ending March 31.

Shares of Avery Dennison Corp. soared $4.92, or 8.8 percent, to $61.02 after the Pasadena-based label maker reported a 41 percent jump in fourth-quarter profits, propped up by increased demand for office products and the strong euro.

The company reported net income of $83.6 million (83 cents per diluted share) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, versus net income of $59.3 million (59 cents) in the like year-ago period. Analysts had expected earnings of 77 cents per share, according to Thomson First Call.

And shares of Simi Valley-based Qualstar Corp. rose 3.9 percent to $4.50 after it reported a loss of $347,000 (3 cents a diluted share) for the second quarter ended Dec. 31, versus net income of $207,000 (2 cents) in the like year-ago period.

Revenues fell to $6.4 million from $9.6 million in the year-ago second quarter. Revenues in the year-ago period included one large shipment of tape storage products, the company said.