S&P 500 ekes out small gain for its third positive day, Alphabet pops; European stocks close higher amid earnings; Italian shares rally on Draghi news 
The S&P 500 climbed slightly on Wednesday, rising for a third straight day as investors digested a wave of corporate earnings. 
The broad equity benchmark rose 0.1% to 3,830.17, supported by energy and communication services. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 36.12 points, or 0.1%, to 30,723.60. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped less than 0.1% to 13,610.54 amid a drop in Amazon shares. 
Shares of Google’s parent Alphabet jumped 7.3% after the technology giant reported 23% revenue growth and topped estimates for earnings, boosted by Google’s recovering advertising business. 
Amazon reported earnings that nearly doubled Wall Street estimates, while delivering its biggest revenue of all time at $125.56 billion, pushing it past the symbolic $100 billion mark for the first time. The ecommerce leader also announced that Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO. Amazon’s stock fell 2%. 
Amgen fell 1.4% after the biotech firm issued a weaker-than-expected full year outlook, noting that the pandemic would continue to hurt sales. Amgen was the biggest loser in the blue-chip Dow. 

European stocks closed higher on Wednesday as positive market sentiment continues amid a busy week of earnings reports. 
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up over 0.3%, with autos adding 2.7% to lead gains as most sectors ended the session in positive territory. 
Italian shares led the way, with the FTSE MIB jumping 2.1% on news that former ECB President Mario Draghi is set to form a unity government. 
In terms of earnings, Vodafone said its organic service revenue returned to growth in the third quarter, beating analyst expectations. The stock rose 5.9% and was one of the top gainers in Europe Wednesday. 
Siemens significantly raised its full-year guidance on Wednesday after a strong fiscal first quarter that saw orders, revenue and net income outstrip market expectations. The German conglomerate’s shares gained 2%. 
At the top of the Stoxx 600, Dutch biotech firm Argenx surged 11.9%, touching its highest point on record, after a $1 billion equity raise. 
German telecoms group Freenet climbed 6.5% after announcing a share buyback plan and restoring its dividend. 
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, GlaxoSmithKline fell 6.3% despite news that it is working with German firm CureVac on Covid-19 vaccines to combat new variants of the disease. The company warned its 2021 earnings would drop by more than expected Wednesday. 
Source: CNBC