U.S. stocks open higher on upbeat earnings reports

U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday as Wall Street cheered over positive quarterly earnings reports from big companies.

With no major economic data due out Wednesday, investors focused on the third-quarter earnings season, which reaches its peak as a raft of noted corporates report quarterly results this week.

Before Wednesday's opening bell, the Boeing Company reported third-quarter 2015 revenue increased 9 percent to 25.8 billion U.S. dollars on record commercial deliveries. Core earnings per share for the quarter increased 18 percent to 2.52 dollars, reflecting strong performance across the company. Its shares jumped nearly 2.0 percent in early trading.

General Motors Company (GM) reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street forecasts, as demand for trucks in North America remained strong. Its shares surged over 4 percent in early trading.

The U.S. car maker announced third-quarter 2015 net income to common stockholders of 1.4 billion dollars or 0.84 dollar per diluted share, compared to 1.4 billion dollars or 0.81 dollar per diluted share a year ago.

Meanwhile, Ferrari begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday morning under the ticker symbol RACE. The luxury car maker priced its IPO at 52 dollars per share, valuing the company at 9.8 billion dollars. Its shares soared more than 11 percent in early trading.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42.56 points, or 0.25 percent, to 17,259.67. The S&P 500 added 6.48 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,037.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 23.69 points, or 0.49 percent, to 4,904.66.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks snapped a three-day winnings streak to end mildly lower after wavering in a narrow range, as investors digested a string of corporate earnings reports and U.S. housing starts data. Endi