The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow rising 45 points to 19,889. Nasdaq gained 33 points to 5,470.
General Motors will temporarily shut five auto assembly plants in the U.S. in January in order to trim its inventory of sedans. The Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan and the Fairfax factory in Kansas will close for three weeks. A plant in Lansing Grand Rapid River in Michigan will be down for two weeks. Closed for one week will be a plant in Lordstown, Ohio and one in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Google's former self-driving car unit, which is now under Google parent Alphabet, has released photos of its self-driving minivans. Waymo partnered with Chrysler to design a self-driving Pacifica minivan that will be cruising public roads in 2017. The new van has been tested for more than 200 hours in extreme weather conditions.
Apple has appealed a European Union ruling in August that ordered Apple to pay $14.5 billion in back taxes to Ireland. Ireland has joined the appeal and issued a statement from the Finance Ministry defending Apple while asserting that the European Commission misunderstood the case. Apple expects the ruling to be overturned.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index rose 6 points to 2,264. Bitcoin added $2 to $784.
