Broad Market Indicators

Broad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were higher. Actively-traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 2.1%.

US equity indexes advanced in midday trading Wednesday as lower-than-expected core inflation in December and strong Q4 earnings reports from large-cap banks buoyed sentiment.

Energy

iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each gained 1%.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) climbed 1.8%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) were also advancing.

SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) jumped 3.2%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) added 2%.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was 2.3% higher. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) soared 6.8%, and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) tumbled 6.6%.

Commodities

Crude oil rose 2.7%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 2.5%. Natural gas gained 1.9%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) added 1.1%.

Gold was up 1.2% on Comex, and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) edged up 0.7%. Silver climbed 3.7%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) rose 2.6%.

Consumer

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) eased 0.3%; Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) were also in the red.

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) climbed 2%; retail fund VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH) rose 0.5%, and SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) gained 1.1%.

Health Care

Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) added 0.4%, and iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) were also higher. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) advanced 1.4%.

Industrial

Select Sector SPDR-Industrial (XLI) was 0.7% higher, and Vanguard Industrials (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were also up.