Stocks Opened Higher amid Positive Earnings from Target and Lowe’s

U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday after upbeat quarterly results from Target and Lowe’s. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 262.97 points, or 1.01%, to 26,225.41. The S&P 500 climbed 27.99 points, or 0.97%, to 2,928.50. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 85.36 points, or 1.07%, to 8,033.92.

Oil futures headed higher Wednesday after a report on U.S. inventories showed a sizable reduction in supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude for October gained 75 cents, or 1.3%, to $56.86 a barrel, while the October contract Brent crude rose $1.01, or 1.7%, to $61.04 a barrel.

Target Corp. (TGT) reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and sales that beat expectations, and raised its full-year profit outlook. Net income for the quarter to Aug. 3 rose to $938 million, or $1.82 a share, from $799 million, or $1.49 a share, in the year-ago period. Total revenue grew 3.6% to $18.42 billion.

Lowe’s (LOW) second-quarter earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectations. Its second-quarter net income rose to $1.68 billion, or $2.14 a share, from $1.52 billion, or $1.86 a share, with sales up 0.5% to $20.99 billion.

DaVita Inc. (DVA) announced the preliminary results of its modified “Dutch auction” tender offer to repurchase up to $1.2 billion of its common stock. The offering was for a price per share that would be not less than $53.50 and not more than $61.50.