U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading Wednesday, led by gains in banks. Energy companies were down the most as crude oil prices headed lower. Bond yields were moving higher a day after sliding to the lowest level since November. Investors were sizing up the latest company earnings and looking ahead to former FBI Director James Comey’s congressional testimony Thursday as part of the investigation into Russia’s possible election meddling.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,433 as of 10:16 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 38 points, or 0.2 percent, to 21,174. The Nasdaq composite index added 18 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,293.
EYE ON WASHINGTON: Comey’s testimony Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee will be his first public comments since he was abruptly ousted by President Donald Trump on May 9. The former director’s associates say Trump asked Comey if he could back off an investigation into Michael Flynn, who was fired as national security adviser because he misled the White House about his ties to Russia.
SMOOTH RIDE: Carvana jumped 18.6 percent after the online car dealership posted its first quarterly results as a public company and issued a forecast that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The stock climbed $1.77 to $11.30.
BAD QUARTER: Duluth Holdings slumped 17.2 percent after the clothing and tools supplier reported disappointing earnings. The stock slid $3.54 to $17.03.
DRONE ON: Ambarella turned in better-than-expected quarterly results, but its stock sank 11 percent after the video compression chip maker’s guidance on sales of vision chips used by drones stoked concern among investors. The stock gave up $6.59 to $53.13.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 54 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $47.65 per barrel in New York. The contract jumped 79 cents on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was down 49 cents, or 1 percent, at $49.63 per barrel in London.
TREASURY YIELDS: Bond prices fell. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.16 percent from 2.15 percent late Tuesday.
CURRENCY: The dollar strengthened to 109.59 yen from Tuesday’s 109.54 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1231 from $1.1271.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: London’s FTSE 100 slid 0.3 percent ahead of Thursday’s British elections. Elsewhere in Europe, traders were also looking ahead to a policy meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday. Germany’s DAX was up 0.2 percent, while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.8 percent.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 were unchanged. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent. Seoul’s Kospi shed 0.4 percent.