Stocks Opened Higher as Asia Soared

U.S. stocks opened with solid gains on Wednesday, after Asian markets soared in the wake of reassuring comments from officials in Beijing and Tokyo. The Dow industrials lately advanced 129.09 points, or 0.78%, to 16,621.77. The S&P 500 was up 13.38 points, or 0.68%, to 1,982.79. The Nasdaq Composite rose 38.30 points, or 0.80%, to 4,850.23.

China’s Ministry of Finance lifted sentiment after it said it would speed up reform of the tax system, boost infrastructure spending and accelerate the use of the public-private-partnership model to support economic growth.

Signals from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that Japan will cut corporate taxes pushed the Nikkei 225 .N225 stock index up 7.7 percent, the most it has risen in a day since the depths of the global financial crisis in October 2008.

McDonald’s Corp. will switch to serving only cage-free eggs at its nearly 16,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada in the next decade, a bid to appeal to diners concerned about the origins of their food.

Barnes & Noble Inc, the largest U.S. bookstore chain, reported a decline in sales for the fifth consecutive quarter, hurt by store closures, lower online sales and weak demand for its Nook tablets.