The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow rising 64 points to 21,077. Nasdaq soared 41 points to 6,204.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to extend its temporary production cut by nine months. OPEC Conference president Khalid A. Al-Falih said that oil prices were beginning to rebalance due to the production cuts that were implemented in December 2016 and that additional inventory reductions were necessary to continue stabilizing the markets. However, crude oil prices slipped after the announcement.
Worksafe reported that worker injury rates at Tesla in 2015 were 31% higher than industry average while more serious injuries were nearly double the industry average. The overall rate in 2015 was 8.8 injuries per 100 workers. Tesla said that the rate has improved over the past two years to 8.1 injuries per 100 workers in 2016 and 4.6 in the first quarter of 2017.
A class action lawsuit was filed against General Motors for allegedly installing emissions cheating devices in GM Duramax diesel trucks. Owners claim that GM installed the devices in model years 2011 through 2016 Chevrolet Silverado Duramax and GMC Sierra Duramax trucks. GM said that there was no merit to the lawsuit.
The broader S&P 500 climbed 10 points to 2,414. Bitcoin dropped $21 to $2424.
