UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Victor Reklaitis and Anora M. Gaudiano, MarketWatch

Energy shares rally as oil prices jump

U.S. stocks struggled to hold on to modest gains in early trade Wednesday, with the Dow attempting to build on an earnings-driven rally that has taken it back into positive territory for the year.

Investors are getting a fresh round of corporate results for this session, as well as Federal Reserve speeches and the central bank's Beige Book report.

What are the main benchmarks doing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 15 points, or 0.1%, at 24,802.

The S&P 500 advanced by 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,711. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 2 points to 7,279.

What's driving markets?

First-quarter earnings reports have grabbed investors' attention this week, with Netflix Inc.(NFLX), Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS)and UnitedHealth Group Inc.(UNH)among the companies that have posted encouraging results.

The S&P 500 components are expected to see earnings growth of 17.3% for the period (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hopes-are-high-for-this-earnings-seasonand-that-could-prove-dangerous-2018-04-09), the fastest rate of expansion since 2011.

What are strategists saying?

"There is one strong force driving the equity markets higher on Wall Street--the stellar earnings season," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK, in a note.

Fears around a potential trade war and geopolitical concerns "have faded very much," Aslam added. He was referring to the worries in recent weeks about the trade skirmish between the U.S. and China, as well as jitters about the conflict in Syria.

North Korea also has been a concern this year, and the isolated nation is in the news again Wednesday, thanks to reports that Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo took a secret trip to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang over Easter. Pompeo went to discuss the terms (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cia-director-mike-pompeo-secretly-met-north-korean-leader-to-talk-summit-2018-04-17) of Kim's upcoming summit with President Donald Trump.

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares in air carrier (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shares-of-united-airlines-parent-higher-after-sales-earnings-beat-expectations-2018-04-17)United Continental Holdings Inc.(UAL)and railroad operator (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/csx-corp-shares-jump-more-than-4-after-companys-earnings-beat-2018-04-17)CSX Corp.(CSX)rose 3% and 5%, respectively, after the companies each posted better-than-expected quarterly profit late Wednesday.

International Business Machines Corp.'s stock (IBM)fell 5.7% as analysts noted its earnings beat late Tuesday was driven by a one-time tax gain (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ibm-earnings-show-ai-is-not-paying-off-yet-2018-04-17). In addition, IBM Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh told analysts on the tech titan's conference call that they should not count on a continued boost from new mainframe sales.

Shares in banking giant Morgan Stanley(MS)added 2.3% after its quarterly profit topped estimates (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morgan-stanley-profit-climbs-38-to-beat-estimates-2018-04-18).

Health-care heavyweight Abbott Laboratories(ABT) shares dropped 1% although the health care company reported first-quarter profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/abbott-labs-beats-profit-and-sales-expectations-shares-slip-2018-04-18)and sales that rose above expectations.

Southwest Airlines Co.'s stock (LUV) fell 0.3%, building on Tuesday's retreat. The discount carrier on Tuesday marked its first passenger death in its 50-year history (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/southwest-plane-makes-emergency-landing-in-philadelphia-engine-appears-blown-out-in-photos-2018-04-17) following a blown engine. The airline says it has started an investigation (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/southwest-begins-probe-into-fatal-engine-blowout-2018-04-18) into the accident.

VMware Inc.(VMW)climbed 3% following reports that storied activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a medium-size stake (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/carl-icahn-takes-medium-sized-stake-in-vmware-report-2018-04-17) in the software company.

Shares of Textron Inc.(TXT) soared 6.8% after the industrial manufacturing company said it agreed to sell its tools and test business to Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) for $810 million in cash, and reported a first-quarter profit and sales beat estimates.

Which economic reports are on tap?

The Fed's Beige Book is scheduled to hit at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. It will give anecdotal evidence on economic conditions from each of the central bank's 12 districts.

Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

New York Fed President William Dudley is due to give a speech on the economic outlook at a college in New York City at 3:15 p.m. Eastern. After that, the Fed's vice chair for bank supervision, Randal Quarles, is slated to make remarks at the Bretton Woods Committee in Washington, D.C., at 4:15 p.m. Eastern.

What are other markets doing?

European stocks were mostly higher, and Asian markets closed with gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-make-strong-gains-thanks-to-earnings-and-easing-tensions-in-korea-2018-04-17).

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-edges-up-helped-by-pounds-fall-after-disappointing-uk-data-2018-04-18) was flat. Gold futures rose, and oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-on-optimism-ahead-of-us-supply-data-2018-04-18) jumped 2% to $67.93 a barrel, after the American Petroleum Institute issued bullish U.S. inventory data.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 18, 2018 10:10 ET (14:10 GMT)

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