Dow tops 20,000 level amid corporate earnings

U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session on Wednesday, with the Dow breaking the 20,000 milestone, as investors eyed a batch of corporate earnings reports.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 137.28 points, or 0.69 percent, to 20,049.99. The S&P 500 rose 12.69 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,292.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 37.80 points, or 0.67 percent, to 5,638.75.

Shares of Boeing rose over 4.5 percent on Wednesday after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results.

The Boeing Company announced fourth-quarter revenue of 23.3 billion U.S. dollars with GAAP earnings per share of 2.59 dollars and core earnings per share (non-GAAP) of 2.47 dollars reflecting overall solid execution on production programs and services.

United Technologies also posted quarterly profit and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations.

AT&T, eBay and Qualcomm are due to report quarterly earnings after Wednesday's closing bell.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 are expected to rise 6.8 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase 4.1 percent.

Meanwhile, some analysts said U.S. President Donald Trump's new executive orders also boosted bullish sentiment on the Wall Street.

U.S. stocks posted solid gains after Trump won the presidency election as investors bet that he would pursue massive corporate tax cuts, deregulation, and infrastructure spending.

Dow closed above 19,000 for the first time ever on Nov. 22 and has increased about 9 percent since the Nov. 8 Election Day. Endit