Stocks opened in positive territory and the averages gained upside momentum following the release of a consumer confidence reading that notched its highest level in 17 years. The best performing index is the Dow, but the strength is broad based. The financial sector is leading the way as new Fed Chair nominee Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Finance Committee. Oil prices have been weak amid concerns about that status of the current production agreement between OPEC members. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the trade deficit in goods widened to $68.3B in October, which was larger than forecast. The FHFA home price index rose 0.3% to 253.0 in September. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index increased to 129.5 in November from 126.2 in October. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Rockwell Automation (ROK) are sliding after Emerson (EMR) announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire the company for $225 per share, citing the Rockwell board’s “continued unwillingness” to engage in talks about a potential combination. For its part, Rockwell said it is “confident” that execution of its strategy will continue delivering “extraordinary shareowner returns”… In other M&A news, Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) agreed to be acquired by Roark Capital’s Arby’s Restaurant Group for $157 per share in cash in a deal valued at approximately $2.9B including debt. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers after reporting quarterly earnings were Thor Industries (THO) and Tech Data (TECD), which rose 12.5% and 10%, respectively. Among the notable losers was Momo (MOMO), which fell 16% after reporting quarterly results. Also lower was CubeSmart (CUBE), which fell 3.5% after Baird analyst RJ Milligan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform based on valuation. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 137.91, or 0.58%, to 23,718.69, the Nasdaq was up 18.61, or 0.27%, to 6,897.13, and the S&P 500 was up 14.00, or 0.54%, to 2,615.42.