The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow gaining 63 points to 21,207. Nasdaq climbed 58 points to 6,305.
A lawsuit against Whole Foods for overcharging customers in New York City has been revived by a federal appeals court. A lower court had dismissed the class-action lawsuit saying that plaintiff Sean John did not have the right to sue because he was not able to show that Whole Foods specifically overcharged him for his purchases. However, the appeals court ruled that John does have the right to sue even if he would have significant challenges in presenting evidence.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed court papers accusing Exxon Mobil and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was the oil company's former chair and chief executive, of misleading investors about the costs of climate change. Documents that Exxon provided to investigators revealed that the company publicly reported higher costs from 2010 through 2014 than internal accounting numbers. The deception is also being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Before President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, the chief executives of 30 major companies published an open letter supporting the agreement. In reaction to the nation's exit from the climate accord, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Disney CEO Bob Iger have both quit the president's economic advisory council. Other leaders such as IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Wal-Mart CEO Doug MicMillon will continue to serve on the business council even though they support the Paris agreement in order to have direct dialogue with the administration.
The broader S&P 500 climbed 8 points to 2,438. Bitcoin soared $33 to $2391
