Anheuser-Busch InBev jumped 7 percent after the company made a takeover approach to SABMiller, the owner of Miller and Peroni. Other beer makers also rose.
Hewlett-Packard rose 3 percent after announcing 30,000 job cuts, while FedEx sank 3 percent after posting results that fell short of analysts' forecasts.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 42 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,642 as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday.
