The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow climbing 80 points to 19,963. Nasdaq gained 20 points to 5,478.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation into Fiat Chrysler Ram pickup trucks and SUVs for potentially rolling away after drivers parked the vehicles. Owners have complained that vehicles have rolled away and crashed despite being parked. The 2013 to 2016 model year Ram 1500 pickup trucks and 2014 to 2016 model year Dodge Durango SUVs being investigated have a different electronic rotary control for driver gear selections that may cause confusion.
Morgan Stanley will settle civil charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the bank violated the Customer Protection Rule. Between March 2013 and March 2015, Morgan Stanley allegedly used an affiliate to make trades with customer funds that should have been protected in a reserve account. Morgan Stanley will pay $7.5 million while admitting no wrongdoing.
Facebook has selected Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman to voice its artificial intelligence assistant Jarvis. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had asked the public to make suggestions for the role. Freeman won the popular vote.
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 2,269. Bitcoin added $2 to $787.
