Upbeat employment data lifted the markets during the midday with the Dow gaining 39 points to 17,970. Nasdaq climbed 16 points to 5,075.
The planned joint venture between Delta Air Lines and Grupo Aeromexico has received tentative approval from the Department of Transportation. The regulatory agency recommended that the two airlines divest takeoff and landing slots from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to low-cost carriers to allow 24 new daily international flights from Mexico City and create six new daily flights from JFK.
Samsung Electronics has issued another recall, this time for washing machines. The tops of approximately 2.8 million top loading washing machines can unexpectedly separate from the machine during a high-speed spin cycle. Thirty four models of machines made between March 2011 and November 2016 are being recalled.
Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that shareholders approve Tesla's proposed acquisition of SolarCity. The shareholder advisory firm said that Tesla was paying a bargain price for SolarCity and that the deal was necessary for Tesla to becoming an integrated sustainable energy company.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 8 points to 2,097. Bitcoin added $2 to $691.
