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Updated at 11:19 am EST

U.S. stocks powered higher Wednesday, following on from solid rallies in Europe and Asia, as investors latched on to solid corporate earnings and fading geopolitical risks to turn markets positive for the month.

Inflation concerns continue to cap sentiment, however, ahead of tomorrow’s January CPI reading that will likely show the fastest pace of consumer price gains in more than forty years and add further fuel to the Federal Reserve’s hawkish turn on interest rates.

In fact, China’s ‘zero-Covid’ health policy could continue to add to supply chain woes and input costs pressures, a senior Bank of Japan policy maker — Toyoaki Nakamura– cautioned late Tuesday, stoking concern that the expected slowing of inflation readings may not materialize until much later in the year.

Still, with S&P 500 companies reporting fourth quarter earnings that are largely ahead of forecasts — beating estimates by more than 6% — and bond yields easing from their recent three-year highs, stocks are set for solid opening bell gains Wednesday following a solid December quarter updates from CVS Health CVS and ahead of media giant Walt Disney DIS after the close of trading.

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On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 290 points at the start of trading while the S&P 500 advanced 51 points to trim its year-to-date decline to around 4%.

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The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite gained 200 points as 10-year Treasury note yields held at 1.927% in early New York trading.

CVS blasted fourth quarter earnings forecasts Wednesday as its retail division revenues got a solid boost from the 20 million Covid vaccinations its administered over the three months ending in December.

Chipotle Mexican Grill  (CMG) – Get Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Report shares surged 9.5% after the restaurant chain posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings that defied a host of rising input costs.

Lyft  (LYFT) – Get Lyft, Inc. Class A Report shares slumped 4%  lower after the ride-sharing group issued a muted near-term outlook following a fourth quarter earnings report that was heavily-affected by the December surge in Omicron infections. 

McDonald’s  (MCD) – Get McDonald’s Corporation Report shares, meanwhile, nudged 1% higher following a report that billionaire investor Carl Icahn is seeking a seat on the board of the world’s biggest restaurant chain.

In overseas markets, a solid European earnings season, where fourth quarter profits are forecast to rise 56.4% from last year, is adding extra heft to the region-wide Stoxx 600, which was marked 1.58% higher in mid-day trading in Frankfurt.

Overnight in Asia, the MSCI ex-Japan index, the region’s broadest benchmark, rose 1.65% into the close of trading while Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the session 1.08% higher at 27,579.87 points.