The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow soaring 93 points to 21,984. Nasdaq rose 8 points to 6,356.
Auto sales in July are expected to drop as carmakers cut sales to rental fleets. General Motors reported a sharp 15% decline in July sales to 226,107 vehicles while Ford sales fell 7.5% to 200,212 vehicles. Toyota bucked the trend with a 4% gain in sales to 222,057 vehicles.
Apple has removed virtual private network apps from its China App Store in response to new regulations in China. In order to operate in China, VPN developers must now apply for and receive a government license. VPNs allow users to access websites that may be blocked by the government.
To gain European Commission approval for its $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto, Bayer has offered concessions to allay competition concerns. The deadline for the European Commission to complete its review of the deal has been extended by two weeks to August 22. Bayer offered the concessions in order to avoid an in depth and lengthy review of the merger deal.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 4 to 3 on the NYSE while decliners edged out advancers by nearly 9 to 8 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 7 points to 2,475. Bitcoin plunged $88 to $2605.
