· The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 102.8 points, or 0.41 percent, to 25,385.8, the S&P 500 gained 3.58points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,751.29 and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.19 points, or 0.09 percent, to 7,163.58.
Wall Street’s major indexes extended the New Year rally to close at record levels on Tuesday on investor optimism ahead of quarterly earnings reports and hopes for easing tensions with North Korea.
· Some investors were reassured that North and South Korea held their first talks in more than two years, which Washington described as a good first step in solving the North’s nuclear missile program crisis. Pyongyang said it would not discuss weapons that were aimed only at the United States.
· Asian markets searched for direction early on Wednesday after yields on U.S. government debt rose and stocks stateside closed higher overnight. In the region, investors await the release of China inflation data later during the day.
· Japan's Nikkei 225 was flat in the morning as gains seen in automakers and financials were offset by losses seen in most major technology names. Blue chips Sony and SoftBank Group were lower by 0.12 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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