NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks are closing higher after corporate earnings got off to an encouraging start.
Stocks held onto their gains through the afternoon Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its latest policy meeting in June.
Alcoa rose 6 percent after reporting earnings that were better than investors were expecting.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 79 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,985.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose nine points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,972. The Nasdaq composite rose 27 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,419.