Stocks Opened Higher, Boosted by Apple, Boeing

U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, boosted by earnings from Apple and Boeing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately added 73.37 points, or 0.42%, to 17,460.58. The S&P 500 was up 11.10 points, or 0.55%, to 2,040.65. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 51.37 points, or 1.10%, to 4,732.87.

Apple Inc. posted the biggest ever quarterly profit. Apple sold a record 74.5 million iPhones in the quarter and reported a 70 percent surge in China sales. With a cash pile of $178 billion, Apple may increase its capital return program to more than $200 billion over three years, RBC Capital Markets analysts said.

Boeing Co. posted higher fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that easily beat expectations. Boeing reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.47 billion, or $2.02 a share, compared with $1.23 billion, or $1.61 a share, a year earlier. Revenue improved to $24.47 billion.

Gentex Corp. (GNTX) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $71 million. The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. For the year, the company reported profit of $288.6 million, or 98 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $1.38 billion.