The S&P 500 raced ahead at the outset, despite some disappointing corporate updates and the oil price coming off the top.
Having popped its head above the $49 mark, the price of West Texas intermediate ebbed to $48.93, but was still up around half a percentage point on the day.
Results from the Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPX) were not to investors' tastes, resulting in the shares shedding 6%.
Sportswear seller Foot Locker Inc (NYSE:FL) got a kicking as its first quarter numbers also disappointed. The shares fell 6.7%.
Faring slightly less badly was industrial and agricultural machinery maker Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) after its fiscal second quarter update. Despite beating expectations with earnings and revenue, the shares tumbled 4.35 to $78.73.
The negative reactions to results from these blue-chips meant the top-shares index, the S&P 500, made less progress than indices that track smaller stocks.
The S&P 500 was up 0.7%, or 14 points, at 2,054, while the S&P 400, which focuses on medium caps, was up 1.1% (15 points) at 1,446 and the Russell 2,000, a gauge to the performance of small caps, was also up 1.1% (12 points) at 1,107.
InterOil Corporation (USA) (NYSE:IOC) saw its market value rise by a third to $2.1bn as Aussie peer launched a $2.2bn bid.
InterOil shares rose to $42.12 as the board succumbed to an offer worth $40.25 for each InterOil share.