The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow rising 34 points to 21,895. Nasdaq surged 67 points to 6,369.
Mall operator Simon Property Group has sued Starbucks to prevent the coffee chain from closing its Teavana stores. Starbucks paid $620 million in 2012 to acquire the premium tea retailer but foot traffic has been falling at Teavana stores. Seventy-eight Teavana stores currently hold lease agreements with Simon Property Group.
Amazon and Microsoft have collaborated to enable their voice controlled digital assistants Alexa and Cortana to communicate with each other. Workers who use Cortana to check their calendar or read email will be able to seamlessly play music or order items online with Alexa. The two technology giants began exploring a potential partnership in May 2016.
The devastation of Hurricane Harvey has prompted many technology companies to donate money to support relief efforts and help victims who have lost everything. Google matched $250,000 that was donated to the American Red Cross by their staff, donated an additional $250,000 and announced another $1 million matching campaign. Amazon and Facebook will match donations made on their sites up to $1 million while Apple has donated $2 million to the American Red Cross and will also match contributions made by employees $2 for every $1 donated.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 12 points to 2,458. Bitcoin tumbled $49 to $4,566.
