US open: Stocks rally on better-than-expected corporate earnings

US stocks rallied on Wednesday, boosted by better-than-expected corporate earnings.

At 1509 BST the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.10%, the S&P 500 increased 0.21% and the Nasdaq edged up 0.65%.

Meanwhile, crude-oil prices were trading lower ahead of US weekly crude inventories data from the Department of Energy at 1530 BST. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.5% to $44.75 per barrel and Brent dropped 1.2% to $46.08 per barrel.

With a lack of economic data on the calendar, corporate earnings dominated the agenda on Wednesday.

In particular, Morgan Stanley was in focus after reporting second quarter results that beat analysts’ forecasts with earnings per share of 75 cents and revenue of $8.9bn. Shares jumped after the results. Earnings already out this week from sector peers JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have all topped estimates.

Microsoft was also a high riser as results released late on Tuesday surpassed estimates, with fourth-quarter earnings per share of 69 cents and revenue of $22.64bn.

Oilfield services company Halliburton edged higher after stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.

Tupperware bucked the trend, however, down just under 1% after it said second-quarter earnings and revenue fell compared to a year earlier, although the numbers were in line with analysts’ forecasts.

Intel, American Express and eBay are slated to report after the closing bell.

In currency markets, the dollar fell 0.51% against the pound but rose 0.43% versus the yen and 0.09% versus the euro.