Microsoft, Morgan Stanley lift Dow, S&P to records

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 hitting fresh records, as Microsoft's strong results boosted optimism regarding the health of quarterly earnings. Microsoft surged 6.4 percent to $56.47, providing the biggest boost to the three major indexes, after its results handily beat expectations. The technology index rose 1.34 percent, leading the six gainers among the 10 major S&P sectors.