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Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened a tad higher on Wednesday but participants were largely content to sit on the sidelines with one eye on Hurricane Laura as it bears down on the Gulf of Mexico coast, and the other on the Federal Reserve’s keenly-awaited symposium on Thursday.
The market was given a modest boost by the only major economic data of the day, as durable goods orders rose 11.2% in July, much more than the 4.3% rise expected. Even when adjusted for volatile defense and aviation items, core durable goods rose 2.4% on the month, beating expectations for a 2.0% rise.
By 9:35 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 38 points, or 0.1%, at 28,810 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.6%.
The Nasdaq in particular was helped by strength in software stocks, after Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) reported much better-than-expected results for the latest quarter after the closing bell on Tuesday. Salesforce stock rose 17.9%, for once overshadowing the likes of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock, which rose 1.6% and 2.0%, respectively.
Other standout gainers included Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) stock, which rose 10.2% to its highest in three years on the back of a strong quarter in which customers binged on hiking and workout gear as the pandemic forced a change in exercise habits across the country.
Tiffany’s (NYSE:TIF) stock fell another 0.3% after sharp losses on Tuesday in reaction to news that its takeover by LVMH (OTC:LVMUY) may not close until November.
