Stocks Mostly Up in Early Trade
(AP) -- U.S. stock indexes were mostly higher in early trading Wednesday as the market added to its modest gains from a day earlier. Technology companies notched some of the biggest gains, led by strong earnings from IBM. Health care and financial companies also rose. Packaged foods companies fell the most. Oil headed higher.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose less than a point to 2,560 as of 10:14 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 104 points, or 0.5 percent, to 23,102, lifted by a big gain in IBM. The Nasdaq composite slid 8 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,615. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 5 points, or 0.4 percent, to $1,503 points to 1,503. More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 and Dow posted record highs on Monday and Tuesday.
TECH STAR: IBM jumped 8.3 percent after the technology company delivered strong quarterly results. Its shares rose $12 to $158.75.
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DONE DEAL: Anthem, the second-largest U.S. health insurer, climbed 4.9 percent after announcing that it has inked a prescription benefits management deal with CVS. Anthem shares added $9.23 to $1.96.49. CVS rose 37 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $73.
GROCERY RUN: Supervalu vaulted 10.7 percent after the supermarket operator reported quarterly earnings that were better than Wall Street analysts expected. The stock added $2.06 to $21.44.
DO OR DO NOT: Electronic Arts slid 3.4 percent after the video game company said it will delay an upcoming "Star Wars" game to make changes. The game was scheduled to be released next year or early in 2019. The company said it's closing down its Visceral Games studio. Shares lost $3.99 to $111.99
BONDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.34 percent from 2.30 percent late Tuesday.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 31 cents to $52.19 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 47 cents to $58.35 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The euro was flat at $1.1762 while the dollar rose 0.6 percent to 112.83 yen.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: European stock markets were moving higher. France's CAC 40 rose 0.5 percent, while Germany's DAX gained 0.5 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.5 percent higher. U.S. stocks were poised for a solid opening, with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.2 percent. In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.1 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed. South Korea's Kospi lost nearly 0.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat.
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