The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up in late-morning trading Wednesday, as equity markets build on their strong start to 2026.

In company news, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) on Wednesday urged shareholders to reject Paramount Skydance's (PSKY) amended acquisition offer because it doesn't constitute a "superior proposal" relative to its merger deal with Netflix (NFLX). Warner Bros. shares were up 0.3% around midday. Shares of Paramount and Netflix were down 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

The Chinese government asked certain tech companies this week to temporarily halt orders for Nvidia's (NVDA) H200 artificial intelligence chips, The Information reported Wednesday, citing two people involved in the communication. Nvidia shares were up 1.4%.

Alaska Air Group (ALK) said Wednesday it is ordering 110 new aircraft from Boeing (BA), the largest order in the airline's history. The airline said it is buying 105 of Boeing's 737-10 aircraft and five 787 aircraft. In addition, Alaska Air said it has secured rights for an additional 35 737-10 aircraft. Alaska Air shares were down 0.8%, while Boeing shares were up 1.1%.

Venezuela will ship sanctioned oil to the US indefinitely, CNBC reported Wednesday, citing sources close to the White House. Shares of Valero Energy (VLO) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC) were up 4.6% and 1.1%, respectively.

JPMorgan Chase's (JPM) asset-management unit is ending relations with proxy advisory firms immediately, according to an internal communication seen by MT Newswires. JPMorgan shares were down 2.7%.

Price: 28.58, Change: +0.10, Percent Change: +0.35