NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are rising Wednesday morning as drugmakers, phone companies and banks and move higher, extending the market’s gains into a third day. Investors have been cautious ahead of a British vote on whether the country will stay in the European Union, but indexes have posted consistent gains in the last few days as optimism grows that Britons will vote to remain part of the bloc.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 73 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,903 as of 10:35 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 8 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,097. The Nasdaq composite gained 15 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,858.
MAKE THE CALL: Phone companies continued to rise. AT&T added 38 cents to $41.45 and Level 3 Communications gained 49 cents to $52.25. Banks also made modest gains as interest rates held steady after posting recent gains, which makes lending more profitable. JPMorgan Chase rose 55 cents to $63.50 and PNC Financial Services edged up $1.06, or 1.3 percent, to $85.59.
TESLA GOES SHOPPING: Electric car maker Tesla offered to buy solar panel maker SolarCity for up to $2.8 billion in an attempt to create a one-stop shop for cleaner energy as consumers become more concerned about fossil fuels harming the environment. The offer values SolarCity at $26.50 to $28.50 per share. Elon Musk is the chairman and largest shareholder in both companies. He’s the CEO of Tesla and SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive is his cousin. SolarCity stock jumped $2.33, or 11 percent, to $23.52 and Tesla slumped $19, or 8.7 percent, to $200.61.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will address Congress again Wednesday as she wraps up a biannual appearance. On Tuesday stocks traded higher after Yellen said the Fed will proceed cautiously in raising interest rates.