Stocks continued to move higher Wednesday, despite the impending sequester and mixed economic reports. Lawmakers have not moved to prevent across the board spending cuts of $85 billion.

Durable goods orders for January fell 5.2% after an increase of 3.7% in the prior month. It was a 1.2% sharper fall than analysts expected. On the upside, machinery orders went up 13.5% and electrical equipment orders increased 1.4%. Computers and electronics were down 5.3%.

The pending home sales index rose higher than expected, to 105.9, up 4.5%. It is the highest the index has been since April of 2010.

The Dow (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 0.66% to 13991.51 and the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) moved up 0.78% to 1508.59. The Nasdaq (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose 0.95% to 3,159.31.

Target (NYSE:TGT) reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations despite what Target said was soft demand for seasonal items. Revenue increased 7% to $22.73 billion from $22.29 billion in last year's fourth quarter. Shares fell 1.83% to $62.90.

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) announced it would cut 17,000 jobs by the end of 2014. The cuts are estimated to save JPMorgan $1 billion each year. Its shares ascended 2.50% to $48.78.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) fourth-quarter sales exceeded analyst expectations of 6.2%, rising 8%. Net profit fell by 4.9%, however, to $1.76 billion compared to $1.85 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Shares moved up 0.98% to $92.70.

The European Commission blocked Ryanair's (NASDAQ:RYAAY) bid to acquire Aer Lingus Group PLC (LON:AERL) saying the deal would hurt competition in the region. Ryanair shares edged up 0.44% to $38.40.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation for online gambling not long after Nevada approved online gambing. Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) shares surged 6.79% as the gaming company is expected to profit from the breakthrough in legal barriers.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is having its annual meeting today, where executives are expected to discuss a possible stock split. Though the split rumor had been discussed for days, shares went up after President of Seabreeze Partners hedge fund Douglas Kass' sent out a tweet on the subject. Its shares fell 0.33% to $447.36.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) stock is still high at $5.67, up 2.14% after posting positive fourth-quarter earnings yesterday.

JC Penney (NYSE:JCP) is expected to report a loss of $0.15 a share to $0.22 a share in the fourth quarter in comparison to its profit of $0.74 a share a year ago. The stock has fallen nearly 40% since CEO Ron Johnson took the helm. Its stock price declined 1.71% to $20.66.

Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) stock was buoyed by a fourth quarter profit that increased 28% from a year ago. The company earned $5.63 a share from $4.41 a share a year earlier. Shares moved up 3.15% to $700.00.

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:MNST) will post earnings Wednesday, which analysts expect to come in lower than in the last quarter. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that energy drink-related emergency room visits doubled from 2007 to 2011. Shares rose 1.25% to $49.56.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) said it would start making chips for Altera Corp (NASDAQ:ALTR). The technology would be used for cloud networking and military purposes. The stock edged up 0.87%.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares rose 1.20% to $262.60 after it announced a content licensing agreement with Sony Pictures Television (NYSE:SNE) which may signal the company is ready to mimic Apple's iCloud business.

Fortress Investment Group (NYSE:FIG) profits doubled in the fourth quarter, rising to $107 million from $50 million a year ago. Total revenue increased to $417.6 million from $276.3 million in the same time period. Its stock moved up 2.25% to $6.37.

Tribune Company (PINK:TRBAA) hired investment banks to consider selling the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, among others. There has been speculation as to whether or not News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS) would acquire those newspapers. Its shares rose 1.57% to $29.14.

Gold futures were down 11.7 at 1603.8. Crude oil futures were up 0.16 to 92.79.