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Stocks Rise At Open As Apple Hauls Techs Higher

Apple shares soared premarket in the wake of the company's earnings report on Tuesday. (Apple)

Techs led the market after the opening bell Wednesday, as heavyweight earnings reports stirred trading.

The Nasdaq rose 0.5%, the Dow industrials climbed 0.3% and the S&P 500 added 0.1%.

Action before the starting bell felt a strong impact from Apple (AAPL) following its fiscal third-quarter earnings report. Wednesday morning's earnings roster included reports from Boeing (BA), Coca-Cola (KO), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and others.

Fed Policy, Durable Goods, Pending Home Sales

With the market's recent uptrend slowed to a crawl, trading after Wednesday afternoon's policy announcement from the Federal Open Market Committee will be key to watch. No change in policy is expected, but the Fed's views on the economy and the potential for a rate hike in September could influence the market.

Orders for durable goods fell 4% in June, the Commerce Department estimated, deeper than consensus forecasts for a 1.3% dip. The department also revised its May estimated lower, to a 2.8% decline in orders. Minus transportation, orders slipped 0.5%, vs. economists target for a 0.3% increase.

The National Association of Realtors reports pending home sales data for June at 10 a.m. ET. Weekly oil inventories stats are due out from the Energy Information Administration at 10:30 a.m. ET, and the Fed's policy announcement is set for 2 p.m. ET.

Apple, Edwards Lifesciences, Twitter

Apple climbed 7% after its fiscal third-quarter earnings report showed iPhone sales declined less than expected.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) rumbled nearly 6% higher. After Tuesday's close, the heart device maker reported a strong second-quarter beat and raised its third-quarter and full-year guidance. Edwards ended Tuesday's session in buy range above a 107.69 buy point in a double-bottom base.

Boeing climbed 3%, as earnings declined and revenue rose more than analysts expected. Malaysia Airlines also announced an order for 50 737 MAX jets, with a list-price value of $5.5 billion.

Remote connectivity software brand Logmein (LOGM) sprung 19% higher after reporting strong second-quarter results and announcing a deal to merge into Citrix Systems' (CTXS) virtual meeting unit, GoTo. The company valued the deal at $1.8 billion. Citrix Systems shares slipped 3%.

Switzerland-based Garmin (GRMN) rose 10% after topping analysts' Q2 expectations and raising its full-year guidance.

Coca-Cola dropped 2.5% after reporting healthy second-quarter results early Wednesday but lowering full-year earnings guidance to below-consensus views.

Akamai Technologies (AKAM) veered 15% lower after its second-quarter earnings met expectations, but revenue stopped short of consensus targets. Akamai management warned margins could narrow due to pricing pressure and strategy shifts among networking clients such as Apple and Facebook (FB).

Microblogging site operator Twitter (TWTR) tumbled 12%. Twitter reported mixed second-quarter results and offered weak third-quarter guidance after the close of trade on Tuesday.

Oil, Gold, International Markets

Crude oil futures were unevenly lower, with West Texas Intermediate down a fraction to $42.86 a barrel. Brent crude dropped 1% to $44.51. Gold edged up less than 1% to $1,321 an ounce. The dollar was mixed -- up vs. the pound and the yen, but outpaced by a rising euro. The 10-year Treasury yield eased 1 basis point to 1.55%.

China's markets booked a sharply mixed session, while in Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rebounded 1.7% on reports of a pending $265 billion stimulus package.

European markets gained ground. The CAC 40 in Paris led the region, up 1.6% in afternoon trade.