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Strong earnings reports lift Wall Street

Better-than-expected earnings drove the Dow and S&P 500 higher Wednesday.

Strong forecasts from Anthem and Abbott Laboratories lifted healthcare stocks for a second day. The Dow hit an intraday record high, gaining roughly four-tenth percent as did the S&P 500. But tech stocks took a breather, leaving the Nasdaq just below breakeven.

Washington Crossing Advisors Senior Portfolio Manager Chad Morganlander said investors for now are brushing off concerns about rising materials prices and labor shortages.

“It's our belief that that investors, in particular analysts are penciling in that these cost pressures that you're seeing over the last several quarters will start to subside when you get into, say, the early parts of 2022. So this they believe is that famous word - transitory.”

Shares of PayPal fell and Pinterest jumped. Sources said the fintech company is offering $45 billion to buy the online scrapbook, a move that could allow PayPal to capture more e-commerce growth and diversify its income through ad revenue.

Facebook’s name could be getting a facelift. The Verge reported that the social networking giant plans to rebrand itself with a new group name. Shares inched higher.

After the bell, shares of Tesla declined even though quarterly revenue topped analysts' estimates. The electric car maker navigated through a global chip shortage to post record deliveries, but one analyst estimates that supply chain issues are still a worry.