Upbeat new home sales lifted the markets during the midday with the Dow gaining 67 points to 18,596. Nasdaq climbed 26 points to 5,270.
Volkswagen has settled a dispute with parts supplier Prevent Group. Details of the agreement were not provided. Production of Volkswagen's best selling Golf will resume as soon as deliveries of seat fabrics, gear boxes and other equipment are received.
Beijing-based insurer Anbang Insurance Group has engaged in discussions with investment banks for an initial public offering of its life insurance unit, Anbang Life Insurance. The offering may list as early as mid-2017 on the Hong Kong exchange.
Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk tweeted that a product announcement would be made today at noon California time. No other details were provided. Speculation swirled that the electric vehicle maker may unveil new autonomous driving technology.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 6 points to 2,189. Bitcoin slipped $1 to $583.
