Stocks open solidly higher - LA Times

Stocks open solidly higher - LA Times

Stocks opened solidly higher on Wall Street, led by gains in technology companies.

Microsoft and Facebook each rose 1% in early trading Wednesday.

Most sectors were higher except for banks. Bank of America lost 1%.

NRG Energy soared 16% after announcing plans to raise up to $4 billion through asset sales in a bid to lower debt.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 16 points, or 0.7%, to 2,441.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 130 points, or 0.6%, to 21,538. The Dow was trading above its latest record-high close.

The Nasdaq composite rose 49 points, or 0.8%, to 6,242.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.31%.