Wall St Ticks Higher, Nears Its All-Time Highs

US stocks are ticking higher Wednesday after more companies delivered fatter profits than expected, Stan Choe reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher in early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 62 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher. I Photo: New York Stock Exchange Facebook

The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher in early trading and just below its all-time high set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 62 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.

The Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher and also approaching its record.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 12.8% after saying strong sales related to artificial intelligence systems helped it deliver better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also raised its financial forecasts for the year.

Cybersecurity company Crowdstrike climbed 9.5% after likewise delivering better results than expected.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe. Investors expect the European Central Bank to cut interest rates at its meeting on Thursday amid worries about a sluggish economy.

Stocks fell across much of Asia, with indexes falling 0.9% in Tokyo and 0.8% in Hong Kong, but they rose 1% in Seoul, Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott also reported for AP.