WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After fluctuating early in the session, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a notable advance.
The major averages saw some volatility late in the session but closed firmly in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 278.04 points or 1.1 percent to 26,702.86, the Dow climbed 360.21 points or 0.7 percent to 52,856.09 and the S&P 500 rose 44.60 points or 0.6 percent to 7,757.17.
The advance by the Nasdaq reflected strength in the tech sector amid a positive reaction to some of the latest earnings news.
Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) spiked by 7.7 percent after the Elon Musk-led rocket company reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings as revenues skyrocketed.
Musk also confirmed SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA) have formed independent special committees to explore a potential merger. Shares of Tesla jumped by 3.8 percent.
Data center server company Super Micro Computer (SMCI) also soared by 9.3 percent after boosting its fiscal first-quarter revenue outlook.
On the other hand, shares of Netflix (NFLX) tumbled by 5.3 percent after the streaming giant reported better than expected third quarter earnings but provided disappointing revenue guidance.
Telecom giant AT&T (T) also plunged by 6.3 percent despite reporting third quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines.
Some traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of quarterly results from Tesla, Meta Platforms (META) and IBM Corp. (IBM) after the close of today's trading.
Sector News
Computer hardware saw substantial strength on the Super Micro Computer news, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 2.5 percent.
Significant strength was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
Semiconductor, networking and banking stocks also saw notable strength, while the steep drop by AT&T weighed on the telecom sector.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks moved mostly higher on the day. While the German DAX Index shot up by 1.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index posted a more modest gain, inching up 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction following the upward move seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 5.121 percent.
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