Stocks open higher; Alcoa leads the way
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as corporate earnings begin on a positive note.
Aluminum maker Alcoa rose the most of major U.S. stocks after reporting earnings that were better than investors were expecting. Alcoa rose 3 percent in early trading. Other materials stocks also rose.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose three points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,855 in the first few minutes of trading Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 27 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,284. The Nasdaq composite rose 19 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,132.
Technology stocks, which fell sharply over the past week, were among the biggest gainers. Facebook rose 2 percent and Microsoft rose 1 percent.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.70 percent.
