(Sharecast News) - Shares on Wall Street were edging higher on low trading volumes following three consecutive down sessions.
As at 1643 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrials were climbing 255 points to 39,536.7, alongside a 4 point advance for the Nasdaq-100 to 18,214.
Front-dated West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were dipping 0.26% to $81.36 a barrel on NYMEX with the Department of Energy having reported a 3.2m barrel build for the week ending on 22 March.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with U.S. business leaders on Wednesday in a bid to boost bilateral ties, calling on them to invest in his country and saying that he saw no need for the two economies to decouple.
Also overnight, Japanese finance minister, Shunichi Suzuki, brandished the threat of foreign exchange intervention as the yen probed its lowest levels in 34 years just shy of 152 against the U.S. dollar.
A move above 152 might open the door to q quick decline in the yen's value, according to market commentary.
On the company front, Trump, Media and Technology Group shares were jumping a further 16% following their flotation the day before.
Shares in perhaps the best known 'meme stock', Gamestop, were dropping 15% after the video game retailer posted a 19% decline in fourth quarter sales to $1.79bn overnight.
Merck shares were adding 4% after the drug outfit announced that its treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension had been approved by the FDA.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Johnson&Johnson was in discussions to acquire Shockwave Medical.
No major economic reports were scheduled for release on Wednesday.
Dow Jones - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $131.28 4.59%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $43.08 2.58%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $20.92 1.97%
Boeing Co. (BA) $191.04 1.89%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $172.25 1.50%
3M Co. (MMM) $104.11 1.44%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $285.37 1.28%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $384.76 1.27%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.37 1.26%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $360.82 1.24%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $300.35 -1.79%
Visa Inc. (V) $278.45 -0.77%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $420.05 -0.38%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.51 -0.07%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $60.49 -0.02%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $155.48 0.14%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $493.52 0.25%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $120.29 0.30%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $189.18 0.36%
S&P 500 - Risers
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $685.01 8.15%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $128.66 8.11%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $21.62 7.24%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $28.70 6.81%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $19.87 6.71%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $27.95 6.27%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $53.51 5.58%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $41.83 4.93%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $117.67 4.84%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $131.28 4.59%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $285.25 -4.22%
Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $129.18 -3.73%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $902.45 -2.50%
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $75.44 -2.41%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $615.04 -2.26%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $24.90 -1.81%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $300.35 -1.79%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $1,307.68 -1.79%
Westrock Company (WRK) $48.55 -1.60%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $27.31 -1.48%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $685.01 8.15%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.17 4.91%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $27.27 3.47%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $88.84 3.01%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $56.22 2.95%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $106.84 2.71%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $43.08 2.58%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $74.57 2.33%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $130.34 2.20%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $136.71 2.17%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $43.25 -3.14%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $902.45 -2.50%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $615.04 -2.26%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $271.49 -2.12%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $1,307.68 -1.79%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,514.92 -1.47%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $311.93 -1.29%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $93.67 -1.11%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $502.01 -1.10%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $578.70 -0.96%
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