NEW YORK (AP) – Stock indexes are slightly higher Wednesday morning while several individual companies were making big moves on earnings and deal news.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 79 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,661 as of 10 a.m. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,074. The Nasdaq composite index rose 13 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,043.
FAIL WHALE: Twitter’s stock took a hit after its earnings showed meager user growth. The messaging company gave a disappointing outlook, projecting revenue that’s about $40 million less than analysts expected. Shares of Twitter retreated $2.96, or 9.5 percent, to $28.38.
Cloud service provider Akamai Technologies plunged on disappointing guidance. Its stock gave up $14, or 18.5 percent, to $61.55.
GAINERS: Northrop Grumman surged $12.98, or 7.2 percent, to $193.58 after the defense contractor said it received a contract worth up to $80 billion to build new bombers for the Air Force. Northrop Grumman stock has been trading at all-time highs.
AIG jumped $2.23, or 3.7 percent, to $63.17 after billionaire investor Carl Icahn said he’s taken a “large” stake in the company. Icahn said the insurance conglomerate should split into three separate businesses. Icahn said his view has support from some other major shareholders.
FED WATCH: The Federal Reserve will release its latest policy statement at 2 p.m. Eastern time as it wraps up its October meeting. The Fed is all but certain to refrain from any increase in interest rates, which have been at record lows since 2008. Investors will scrutinize its statement to see if the Fed is leaning toward a rate hike at its last meeting of the year in December.
Some Fed officials, including Chair Janet Yellen, have said the bank will likely raise its benchmark interest rate this year. But the markets are doubtful that will happen because of a string of weaker-than-expected economic reports over the last few weeks.
ENERGY: The price of U.S. crude oil rose $1.14, or 2.7 percent, to $44.38 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, rose $1.24, or 2.7 percent, to $48.06 a barrel in London.
OVERSEAS: France’s CAC rose 0.4 percent and Germany’s DAX gained 0.6 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent. Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.7 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent.
BONDS, CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.05 percent. The dollar was little changed at 120.33 yen and the euro rose to $1.1067 from $1.1040.