U.S. stocks edged higher Tuesday as investors assessed the latest string of corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 89 points, or 0.3%, to 34927 shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1%.

Solid economic data and earnings have helped bolster investors’ optimism that stocks can continue to grind higher following an already strong rally this year. Money managers say continued support from central banks and economic data that still shows growth will further support equities.

“It has been a pretty strong earnings season and that justifies the medium-term positive view that we have on stocks,” said Justin Onuekwusi, head of retail multiasset funds at Legal & General Investment Management. “Earnings typically always beat the average analyst estimate, but for the second quarter in a row, they are coming in above the highest estimates, which is pretty unprecedented.”

Shares of Under Armour rose 3.3% after the company reported it swung to a profit in the second quarter.

Clorox shares slid 11% after the company said it expects sales to fall slightly for fiscal 2022.

Eli Lilly narrowed its revenue guidance but reiterated the same earnings forecast it had previously issued. Its shares bounced up 2.1%.

Besides earnings, investors are also monitoring a number of other factors that could add volatility to markets and limit the pace of the rally in broader markets. An increase in Delta-variant Covid-19 cases has raised concerns about the global economic recovery stalling, and a recent regulatory clampdown in China caught some investors by surprise last month.

In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note hovered around 1.173%, its lowest closing level since February. Yields fall as bond prices rise.

The spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus, particularly in Asia, continued to weigh on oil prices by threatening to hold back the recovery in demand for the fuel.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the main U.S. gauge of oil prices, dropped 1.5% to $70.16 a barrel.

Meanwhile, U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies fell after a state-owned newspaper criticized online gaming as “opium for the mind,” stoking fears of further tough action from Beijing.

Traders worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

Traders worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

Photo: justin lane/Shutterstock

NetEase fell 8.3%, and Bilibili dropped 7.3%.

Overseas, technology stocks in China and Hong Kong also had another turbulent session.

Shares in Tencent Holdings, NetEase and Bilibili all plunged, before regaining some ground after the article disappeared from the paper’s website. Tencent, which said Tuesday that it would introduce stricter curbs on younger users’ gaming time, dropped 6.1% in Hong Kong, while the city’s Hang Seng Tech Index declined 1.5%.

Hong Kong’s broader Hang Seng Index drifted 0.2% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.5%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2%.

“Sentiment has been hit by this commentary suggesting that online gaming might be an area China will target in the future,” said Edward Park, chief investment officer at U.K. investment firm Brooks Macdonald. “It means this risk won’t go away. It is hard for investors to trade that risk,” he added.

Elsewhere, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 ticked up 0.1%.

—Akane Otani contributed to this article

Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com