The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow climbing 88 points to 21,324. Nasdaq gained 35 points to 6,210.
Sears Holdings will eliminate 400 corporate jobs as part of its $1.25 billion cost cutting plan. Most of the positions are at the retailer's headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The company has reduced approximately $1 billion in expenses and expects to cut more jobs at its field operations.
Verizon Communications completed its $4.48 billion acquisition of Yahoo and announced the resignation of Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer. Yahoo will be combined with AOL into Verizon's new Oath consumer media business that will offer news, sports, finance and entertainment content. The combination is expected to cut approximately 2,100 jobs.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook confirmed that the company is developing technology for autonomous cars. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has already approved the technology company to test self driving cars in the state. However, Cook did not say that an Apple car was in the works, only that machine learning and automated systems were being tested.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 9 points to 2,438. Bitcoin gained $58 to $2706.
