An increase in housing starts along with strong earnings lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow climbing 108 points to 24,681. Nasdaq gained 59 points to 7215.
On the upside
Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) reported higher first quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations as subscribers soared.
Roku (Nasdaq: ROKU) will offer the new ESPN+ streaming service on its devices.
Morgan Stanley upgraded Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) from an Underweight rating to and Equal Weight rating.
On the downside
Citigroup downgraded Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) from a Neutral rating to a Sell rating.
Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) has temporarily halted production of its Model 3 electric vehicle.
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BLCM) announced a public offering of 7 million common shares.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 15 points to 2,692. Bitcoin climbed $91 to $8,098.