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U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 up for a fifth straight day as technology companies rallied on strong results, though weakness in Boeing weighed on the Dow.
With the session's advance, which builds on a jump of about 2 percent on Tuesday, the S&P 500 is up 4.5 percent over the past five sessions, putting it on track for the biggest five-day rally since December 2011.
Tech names were among the market's biggest advancers a day after both Yahoo Inc and Broadcom beat revenue expectations. Broadcom shares climbed 7.2 per cent to $40.01 while Yahoo was up 5.7 per cent at $42.47; the two made up the S&P 500's top percentage gainers.
Material stocks also outperformed on the day, up 0.6 per cent, after Dow Chemical posted better-than-expected earnings. The stock rose 1.2 per cent to $48.78.
Limiting the market's advance was Boeing Co, which dipped 1 percent to $125.77 despite reporting higher-than-expected earnings and raising its outlook, as analysts raised concern about the costs of the 787 Dreamliner. Its decline comes after a rise of 5.8 per cent over the four previous sessions.
"The season has been mixed, and the global economy is a concern for big multinational companies, but the fact that the market can shake off some bad reports is indicative of what good footing it is on right now," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Nashville.
At current levels, the S&P is 3.4 per cent from its closing record, and up 6.7 per cent from its session low last Wednesday, when the benchmark neared correction territory.
In the latest economic data, consumer prices rose 0.1 per cent in September as energy costs fell broadly, painting a weak inflation picture that should give the Federal Reserve ample room to keep interest rates low for a while.
At 11:06 a.m. the Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.34 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 16,624.15, the S&P 500 gained 3.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 1,945.18 and the Nasdaq Composite added 7.47 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 4,426.95.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,796 to 1,118, for a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,336 issues rose and 1,119 fell for a 1.19-to-1 ratio favouring advancers.
The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 39 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 39 new highs and 14 new lows.
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