The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow rising 25 points to 20,847. Nasdaq gained 10 points to 5,855.
Fast food chain Wendy's will install kiosks at approximately 1,000 locations nationwide for customers to place their food orders. An average of three kiosks will be installed at each location with more planned for high traffic restaurants. The move is expected to lower labor costs while improving customer experience and sales.
Trader Joe's has voluntarily recalled several varieties of its apple sauce after customer complained that small pieces of glass were found in the jars. The grocery store chain's brand of First Crush Unsweetened Gravenstein Apple Sauce with barcode 0015905, Organic Unsweetened Apple Sauce with barcode 00194877 and All Natural Unsweetened Apple Sauce with barcode 00014359 are all affected by the recall. Customers have been asked to either discard the product or return the product to a store for a full refund.
In response to competition from discount grocery chain Aldi, Wal-Mart commenced a price comparison test at approximately 1,200 stores across 11 Midwest and Southeastern states. Wal-Mart has also met with food vendors to seek price reductions. The world's largest private employer and the world's largest company by revenue is seeking the right product pricing that will attract more shoppers.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index added 2 points to 2,369. Bitcoin soared $22 to $1,184.
