The markets advanced during the midday with the Dow climbing 99 points to 21,419. Nasdaq soared 72 points to 6,161.

Tesla partnered with French renewable energy firm Neoen to build a 100-megawatt lithium ion battery farm in South Australia to improve the efficiency of the region's power grid. A huge storm in September 2016 devastated transmission lines causing a statewide blackout. The project will expand the supply of renewable energy and add storage capacity of 129 megawatt hours.

Foxconn Technology Group may build a factory in Wisconsin that could potentially create 10,000 jobs. The electronics contract manufacturer attracted global scrutiny in 2010 when 18 employees at its industrial park in Shenzhen, China tried to kill themselves. Foxconn is best known for assembling Apple products.

Berkshire Hathaway offered $9 billion to acquire Oncor Electric Delivery parent Energy Future Hodlings, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2014. Oncor powers more than 3.4 million homes and businesses in Texas and reported profits of $431 million in 2016. The Public Utility Commission of Texas must approve the acquisition.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 16 points to 2,426. Bitcoin tumbled $70 to $2498.