US stocks rise as Disney ups bid for Fox assets

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks rose early Wednesday, shaking off trade war woes. Media shares advanced after Disney raised its bid for key assets of Twenty-First Century Fox.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 24,739.90, up 0.2 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.3 percent at 2,769.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5 percent to 7,764.83.

US stocks have been pressured the last three sessions in response to new tariffs and threats between the US and China.

While a trade war remains a major worry, Wednesday's bounce could reflect "the sunny side of today's trade headlines," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, which includes reports that European automakers support a plan to end tariffs on US car imports.

Fox shot up 6.4 percent as Disney raised its bid for core entertainment assets in response to a challenge from Comcast. Disney rose 0.8 percent and Comcast climbed 0.6 percent.

General Electric dropped 0.4 percent after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced it was dropping the slumping industrial giant from its Dow Jones index and replacing it with Walgreens Boots Alliance. Walgreens Boots rose 3.3 percent.

Starbucks slumped 6.0 percent after announcing it expects just one percent growth in comparable store sales in the third quarter. The coffee giant also announced it was hiking its dividend 20 percent and closing about 150 stores in the US in 2019.