Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, as speculation over whether the Federal Reserve will begin to scale back its asset purchase program later this year continued to dominate market sentiment.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.49%, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.50%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.35%.
Speculation that the U.S. central bank will begin to taper its asset purchase program continued following last week’s upbeat U.S. jobs data and after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s revised its long-term outlook on the U.S. credit rating to stable from negative on Monday, citing an improving economic outlook.
Rambus surged 8.22% after the company settled a patent case with South Korea's SK Hynix, which will pay the rival chipmaker USD240 million.
Adding to gains, Lennar rallied 1.11% after Keefe Bruyeett & Woods upgraded the homebuilder to "outperform" from "market perform."
Yum climbed 0.98%, even as the fast-food chains operator reported a 19% drop in China same-store sales in May. China is responsible for about half the sales for Yum.
Among pharmaceutical companies, U.S.-traded GlaxoSmithKline shares jumped 1.95% after the company dismissed its head of research and development in China, following an investigation that determined data used in a 2010 research paper was misrepresented.
Elsewhere, Google edged up 0.14% and Facebook gained 0.53%, as both companied were said to be among a group of firms asking the U.S. government for more leeway in disclosing information about national-security data requests, in a move to reassure customers that authorities don’t have unlimited access to users’ personal details.
Other stocks in focus included H&R Block and Men's Wearhouse, scheduled to post earnings after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.25%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.27%, Germany's DAX slid 0.33%, while Britain's FTSE 100 inched 0.01% lower.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.20%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.46%.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.49%, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.50%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.35%.
Speculation that the U.S. central bank will begin to taper its asset purchase program continued following last week’s upbeat U.S. jobs data and after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s revised its long-term outlook on the U.S. credit rating to stable from negative on Monday, citing an improving economic outlook.
Rambus surged 8.22% after the company settled a patent case with South Korea's SK Hynix, which will pay the rival chipmaker USD240 million.
Adding to gains, Lennar rallied 1.11% after Keefe Bruyeett & Woods upgraded the homebuilder to "outperform" from "market perform."
Yum climbed 0.98%, even as the fast-food chains operator reported a 19% drop in China same-store sales in May. China is responsible for about half the sales for Yum.
Among pharmaceutical companies, U.S.-traded GlaxoSmithKline shares jumped 1.95% after the company dismissed its head of research and development in China, following an investigation that determined data used in a 2010 research paper was misrepresented.
Elsewhere, Google edged up 0.14% and Facebook gained 0.53%, as both companied were said to be among a group of firms asking the U.S. government for more leeway in disclosing information about national-security data requests, in a move to reassure customers that authorities don’t have unlimited access to users’ personal details.
Other stocks in focus included H&R Block and Men's Wearhouse, scheduled to post earnings after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.25%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.27%, Germany's DAX slid 0.33%, while Britain's FTSE 100 inched 0.01% lower.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.20%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.46%.