US Stocks: Wednesday's early afternoon trade

US stocks rose on Wednesday as a pullback in benchmark bond yields triggered a rebound in interest-rate-sensitive shares including banks, utilities and home builders. Data signalling strength in US consumer spending also reassured investors, lifting shares of big manufacturers such as plane maker Boeing Co and those of consumer-oriented companies such as Altria Group.
Boeing and Alcoa Inc led the Dow's advancers, while Exxon Mobil Corp and Citigroup Inc topped the S&P 500's list of major gainers. "Equity traders have one eye on their own screen, the other eye on the bond screen," said Michael James, senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 38.42 points, or 0.29 percent, at 13,333.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.31 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,499.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 9.38 points, or 0.37 percent, at 2,559.15.