Stocks edge higher as falling oil prices help take pressure off the market

Stocks edged higher on Wall Street on Wednesday as falling bond yields and lower oil prices helped ease pressure. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, and around 10:03 a.m. Eastern the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 100 points (0.2%) while the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2%. Technology stocks were mixed after two straight sessions of losses that weighed on broader sentiment. Alphabet rose 1% after it was announced it would replace Verizon in the Dow on Monday, becoming the fifth “Magnificent 7” company to join the index; Nvidia fell 0.1% after a 4.1% drop Tuesday, while Micron fell 0.4% after plunging 13.2%. Oil continued sliding amid U.S.-Iran talks, with Brent down 4% to $73.72 and U.S. crude down 4.4% to $69.96. Treasury yields mostly fell, and gold dropped 2.6%.