US stock indexes move higher in midday trading a day after S&P 500 set its latest record high

Traders David O'Day, left, and Christopher Fuchs, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. Major U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, a day after the Standard & Poor's 500 index set its second record-high close in two days. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) (The Associated Press)

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Trader Gregory Rowe, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, a day after the Standard & Poor's 500 index set its second record-high close in two days. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) (The Associated Press)

Trader Jason Harper, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, a day after the Standard & Poor's 500 index set its second record-high close in two days. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) (The Associated Press)

U.S. financial markets are moving higher in midday trading, with health care stocks among the biggest gainers.

Some encouraging news from Japan and Germany also helped lift markets.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index added eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,049 as of 11:55 a.m. Eastern time.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 40 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,688. The Nasdaq composite gained 25 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,696.

Nokia rose 4 percent after the Finnish technology company said it would introduce a tablet computer that runs the Android operating system.

Urban Outfitters sank 9 percent after its latest quarterly earnings missed analysts' forecasts.

The price of oil fell $1.21 to $74.44 a barrel in New York. That helped send energy stocks lower.

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