Stocks Ended Mostly Higher as Financials and Industrials Gained

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hitting a five-month high and the Dow rising for a fifth consecutive session, as solid earnings boosted financial and industrial stocks and reinforced expectations for a strong second-quarter reporting season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.40 points, or 0.32%, to 25,199.29. The S&P 500 gained 6.07 points, or 0.22%, to 2,815.62. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.67 point, or 0.01%, to 7,854.44.

Oil prices ended higher on Wednesday, finding support from a bigger-than-expected decline in gasoline stocks, despite a surprise climb in domestic crude supplies and record weekly production. August West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1%, or 68 cents, to settle at $68.76 a barrel. September Brent oil tacked on 1%, or 74 cents, to $72.90 a barrel.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter. The company reported second-quarter net income of $2.4 billion, or $2.61 a share, compared with $2.33 billion, or $2.48 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $20 billion from $19.3 billion in the year-ago period.

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