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Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened higher on Wednesday, shrugging off a weaker-than-expected set of durable goods orders data as Tuesday’s dip attracted bargain-hunters.
By 9:45 AM ET (1345 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 244 points, or 0.8%, at 32,667 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2%.
Earlier, the Commerce Department had said that durable goods orders fell 1.1% and core orders fell 0.9%, disappointing hopes for a more modest slowdown in growth.
Additionally, data from the Mortgage Bank Association showed that refinancings fell for the eight time in the last 10 weeks, under pressure from rising long-term interest rates. The 30-year mortgage rate rose another 8 basis points last week to 3.36% and is now up over half a percent from its January low.
Some of the most notable early moves came in chipmaking names, with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock rising 1.3% after announcing a major capacity expansion in Arizona as part of CEO Pat Gelsinger’s new strategy. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) stock was down 4% at the prospect of the former leader in the chip sector trying to regain its lost crown.
ADRs in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML), the Dutch-based producer of chipmaking machines, rose 4.7% to their highest in a month.
Elsewhere, GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) stock fell 17%, albeit in smaller volumes than has often been the case in recent weeks, in disappointment at the company’s admission that it is looking at selling new equity to fund its transformation into an e-commerce powerhouse. The company’s results for the three months through January, released after the close on Tuesday, were also a little shy of consensus expectations.
