NEW YORK — Investors are seeing the kind of earnings numbers that make them feel confident about stocks.

The market stepped to new highs for the year yesterday after a handful of earnings reports bolstered hopes that the economy is coming back sooner than many analysts had thought.

That is helping some investors move past a bout of nerves about whether expectations for the economy are stretched too far.

Industrial equipment maker Eaton Corp. said it was seeing improvement in key markets and raised its full-year profit forecast. Newspaper publisher Gannett Co. managed to post a profit despite a sharp fall in revenue.