12:14 PM EDT, 10/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6% around midday trading Wednesday, rallying from a losing session the day prior.

In company news, Abbott Laboratories ( ABT ) said it now expects adjusted earnings per share to be between $4.64 and $4.70 for 2024, compared to its prior guidance of $4.61 to $4.71. For Q4, the company said it anticipates adjusted EPS of $1.31 to $1.37 versus the Street's current estimate of $1.33. For Q3, Abbott reported adjusted EPS of $1.21, up from $1.14 in the year-ago period and above the Capital IQ consensus analyst estimate of $1.20. Third-quarter net sales were $10.64 billion, up from $10.14 billion a year earlier and above the Capital IQ consensus of $10.55 billion. Abbott shares were up 2% around midday.

Lithium Americas ( LAC ) said Wednesday it has entered into an investment agreement with General Motors ( GM ) to form a joint venture for funding, developing, constructing and operating the Thacker Pass project in Nevada. Lithium Americas ( LAC ) will manage the project and have a 62% interest in Thacker Pass via a $387 million contribution to the JV. General Motors ( GM ) will pledge $625 million in cash and letters of credit and will acquire the remaining 38% stake. Shares of Lithium Americas ( LAC ) surged nearly 20%, while those of GM were up 2.3%.

Dominion Energy ( D ) said Wednesday its Virginia unit and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of small modular reactor, or SMR, nuclear projects in Virginia. Separately, Energy Northwest, a public power agency, said it reached an agreement with Amazon ( AMZN ) to fund efforts to "move toward development and deployment" of SMR technology in Washington state. Under the terms of the agreement, Amazon ( AMZN ) will fund the initial feasibility phase of an SMR project, which is slated to be located near Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station nuclear energy facility in Richland, Wash. Shares of Dominion were up 3.5%, while those of Amazon ( AMZN ) were down 0.8%.

Morgan Stanley ( MS ) reported Q3 earnings Wednesday of $1.88 per diluted share, up from $1.38 a year earlier and above the Capital IQ consensus estimate of $1.58. Third-quarter net revenue was $15.38 billion, up from $13.27 billion in the year-ago period and above the Capital IQ consensus of $14.30 billion. Morgan Stanley ( MS ) shares were up 7.7%.

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