US open: Big cap tech leads gains amid record-low volatility
Stocks on Wall Street are higher in early trading with investors looking forward to more Fedspeak amid a backdrop of renewed gains for big cap tech names and stock volatility at record lows.
At 1554 BST the Dow Jones Industrial Average was edging higher by 0.06% to 21,022.58, while the S&P 500 was ahead by 0.09% at 2,401.61 and the Nasdaq Composite was gaining 0.37% to 6,125.27.
On Monday the market capitalisation of Apple briefly surpassed the $800m mark after Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet's investment vehicle, announced that during the first quarter it had increased its stake to nearly $20bn.
Come Tuesday, the shares were 0.92% higher, giving the Cupertino, California-based firm a market capitalisation of $798bn.
Meanwhile, oil prices were just a touch lower following the latest Department of Energy data which revealed a 0.9m barrel drop in the country's crude oil stockpiles during the latest week.
West Texas Intermediate was down 0.4% at $49.16 a barrel on the ICE.
LCG senior market analyst Jasper Lawler commented: "Stocks in the US opened higher on Wednesday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching up fresh record highs. Shares in America’s biggest tech firms Amazon, Apple and Alphabet all hit record highs. At the same time the VIX index tracking S&P 500 volatility fell to a 24 year low."
The CBoE volatility index was up by 1.84% to 9.94.
For his part, CMC Markets' Michael Hewson said: "The successful navigation around the latest in political risk appears to have prompted a significant degree of complacency with respect to hedging potential downside moves, with the VIX down at levels last seen in 1993."
Investors will be turning their attention to more Fedspeak, with Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari due to talk at the Minnesota High Tech Spring Conference, while Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren is set to make a speech at the NYU Stern School of Business. In addition, Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan will appear in a moderated discussion at the Dallas Regional Chamber.
Economic data was light on Tuesday, with the Commerce Department reporting a 0.2% month-on-month rise in US wholesale inventories for the month of March.
In parallel, NFIB reported that its gauge of small business confidence edged higher by 0.2 points in April to 104.5.
On the corporate front, Marriott International was higher after its quarterly earnings late on Monday beat expectations.
Shares in Valeant rocketed after the pharma outfit posted its first quarter numbers.
Discovery Communications reported a drop in first quarter net income to 37 cents per share which was down from 42 cents one year ago and well below the 50 cents which analysts at FactSet had penciled in.
Stock in Office Depot surged after the firm soundly beat analysts' forecasts for first quarter earnings and sales.
Dow Jones - Risers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $76.94 1.08%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $154.58 1.03%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $54.85 1.01%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $87.57 0.54%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $99.85 0.48%
Boeing Co. (BA) $186.84 0.44%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.89 0.42%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $121.57 0.40%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $144.78 0.37%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $69.13 0.27%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $34.03 -0.77%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $151.97 -0.69%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $43.64 -0.57%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.43 -0.55%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $79.82 -0.55%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.38 -0.55%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $63.70 -0.48%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $106.18 -0.47%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $173.79 -0.37%
General Electric Co. (GE) $28.97 -0.33%
S&P 500 - Risers
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $12.55 15.67%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $102.77 6.64%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $78.35 4.49%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $46.57 3.63%
Pentair plc (PNR) $68.24 3.25%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $21.17 3.12%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $49.74 2.51%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $28.70 2.28%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $78.08 2.23%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $178.91 2.23%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $1.43 -6.54%
TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $24.22 -6.11%
Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $43.65 -5.96%
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) $129.45 -5.77%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $26.22 -3.78%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $25.59 -3.45%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $63.30 -3.26%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $58.49 -2.13%
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $58.28 -2.02%
Entergy Corp. (ETR) $75.78 -1.76%