By Sue Chang, MarketWatch , Ryan Vlastelica

Corporate earnings continue to beat expectations

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with major indexes hitting intraday records and the Dow industrials returning above 23,000 as the latest round of corporate earnings continued to support the market.

What are the main benchmarks doing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 147 points, or 0.6%, to 23,145. The S&P 500 index rose 2 points to 2,561 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 4 points to 6,627.

Recent trading has had a pronounced upside bias. The Dow is on track for its fourth straight daily rise, as well as its 13th gain of the past 16 trading days. The S&P is set for its fourth straight daily gain, as well as its 14th positive session of the past 17.

See:Dow 23,000 marks fresh history for blue chips (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-23000-marks-fresh-history-for-blue-chips-2017-10-17)

Don't miss:Retail investors see this as the 'best time ever' to jump into stocks. Time to worry? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retail-investors-see-this-as-the-best-time-ever-to-jump-into-stocks-time-to-worry-2017-10-18)

What are strategists saying?

"IBM had great numbers, and people think the stock is undervalued. It seems to have a turnaround in progress, no doubt about that. The stock probably got oversold due to too much negativity," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services.

"Overall, earnings are coming in very nicely. Average earnings growth has been 12%, which is way above what people are expecting, though we don't have that big of a sample yet."

"So far, earnings have beat expectations. I think that the most important thing economically that has happened this year is the clear, sustainable recovery occurring in Europe. We're getting confirmation of that with almost every economic release. Europe is creating more demand for goods from China which is helping China, so we have the U.S., Europe and China in a synchronized recovery. Economic data globally is confirming positive earnings trends," said Maris Ogg, president of Tower Bridge Advisors.

Which stocks are key movers?

Shares in International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) jumped 9.2% a day after the tech giant posted better-than-expected quarterly results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ibm-stock-up-after-hours-following-earnings-revenue-beat-2017-10-17). IBM was the Dow average's biggest gainer, set for its biggest one-day percentage gain since 2009.

However, the stock remains down about 4.5% so far this year, having bucked the overall trend in tech names. The tech sector is up more than 25% in 2017 and is the best performer among the primary S&P 500 sectors.

Read more:IBM earnings beat is a product of tax avoidance, and it's nothing new (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ibm-earnings-beat-is-a-product-of-tax-avoidance-and-its-nothing-new-2017-10-18)

Shares in Fogo de Chão Inc.(FOGO) sank 9.5% after the restaurant chain gave a disappointing outlook late Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fogo-de-chao-shares-decline-as-outlook-misses-street-view-2017-10-17).

Abbot Laboratories(ABT) rose 1.7% after it reported its quarterly results.

Financial stocks were big gainers led by Citigroup Inc.(C), Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS), and Morgan Stanley(MS).

What could drive markets?

At 2 p.m. Eastern, traders are due to get the Fed's Beige Book report, which gathers economic anecdotes from across the U.S. central bank's regional districts.

What are data saying about the economy?

A report on the housing industry showed that permits and home starts were both down in September. Permits fell by 4.5% on the month at 1.27 million, while starts fell by 4.7% to 1.13 million, according to the Commerce Department.

What are other assets doing?

European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dax-heads-for-new-record-as-euro-slide-helps-exporters-2017-10-18) closed higher, while Asian markets were mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-continue-to-rise-as-chinas-party-congress-starts-2017-10-17) as a key meeting of China's political elite kicked off. Oil futures were flat , while gold futures pulled back (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-futures-build-on-weeks-losses-as-dollar-gains-inflation-risk-in-focus-2017-10-18). The ICE U.S. Dollar Index was up fractionally (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-lines-up-for-5th-straight-win-2017-10-18).

--Victor Reklaitis contributed to this report.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2017 12:34 ET (16:34 GMT)

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