Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, supported by the release of strong U.S. economic reports and after the World Bank raised its global growth forecast.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.26%, the S&P 500 index 0.32%, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.56%.
Producer price inflation in the U.S. rose 0.4% last month, the biggest increase since June, recovering from a 0.1% decline in November and was 1.2% higher from a year earlier.
Core PPI was up 0.3% in December and rose 1.4% on a year-over-year basis, compared to expectations for a monthly increase of 0.1% and an annual gain of 1.3%.
A separate report showed that manufacturing activity in the Empire State expanded at the fastest pace since May 2012 this month.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index jumped to 12.51 in January from an upwardly revised 2.22 in December. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 3.75.
In addition, the World Bank increased its global growth forecasts, predicting the world economy will expand 3.2% this year, compared to a previous projection of 3% and up from 2.4% in 2013.
In the the tech sector, Intel Corp. jumped 1.28% after the chipmaker said it will delay opening a new factory in Arizona amid a slump in demand for personal-computer microprocessors.
Separately, Apple rallied 1.68% after China Mobile said advance orders for iPhones had hit 1 million.
Adding to gains, Verizon Communications gained 1.02% after the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington decided in favor of the company on Tuesday, striking down the Federal Communications Commission's so-called net-neutrality rules.
As a result, the carrier will be able to charge extra fees for speedier delivery of online content.
Elsewhere, General Motors dropped 0.95% as the automaker said it will pay a dividend of 30 cents a share, making the first quarterly payment since July 2008, and appointed Chuck Stevens as the new chief financial officer.
In the same sector, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said the electric-car maker expects to ship its first Model S vehicles to China in March, sending shares up 6.73%.
Among financial stocks, Bank of America surged 2.62% after reporting fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped estimates.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.08%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.87%, Germany's DAX jumped 1.71%, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.66%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.49%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.50%.