The markets extended its gains during the midday with the Dow soaring 141 points to 18,236. Nasdaq climbed 41 points to 5,299.
The Labor Department filed a lawsuit against Palantir for racial discrimination against Asian job applicants. Palantir is a data analytics company that provides services to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Army. As a federal government contractor, Palantir cannot discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or against military veterans.
Lowe's will introduce Microsoft's augmented reality HoloLens to three additional stores. Currently, two stores in Seattle offer the HoloLens for customers to virtually design their kitchens. Customers will be able to view items that have been saved on their Pinterest accounts in the real world to create their dream kitchen.
The Department of Justice is investigating Standard Chartered for allegedly paying bribes to the Indonesian government in order win contracts. Standard Chartered's subsidiary Maxpower Group is accused of paying of more than $750,000 to government officials. Standard Chartered was fined in 2012 and 2014 for violating U.S. sanctions and failing to detect possible money laundering.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 13 points to 2,159. Bitcoin added a fraction to $606.
