NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are opening higher after several companies reported better earnings than investors were expecting.
Traders were also encouraged by the U.S. government’s initial estimate that the economy surged ahead at a 4 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter.
Twitter, Hess and Pitney Bowes all rose sharply after beating analysts’ profit forecasts.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,977 in the first few minutes of trading Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 54 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,965. The Nasdaq composite gained 28 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,469.
Banks and health care stocks rose the most in the S&P 500 index.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 2.52 percent from 2.46 percent.
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