U.S. stocks struggled to find direction on Wednesday, as oil prices moved deeper into the red. This as an oil worker strike in Kuwait abruptly ended, fanning

U.S. stocks moved higher in midday trading on Wednesday after a choppy morning. A rebound in March existing home sales pushed stocks higher, outweighing disappointing quarterly results from Coca-Cola . Boeing shares fell more than 2 percent after Bank of America downgraded its stock to UNDERPERFORM from NEUTRAL with a $125 price target. Analysts said its 787 jets would not generate as much cash as expected. Angie's List shares were in focus after the company reported a first-quarter loss. The home services website posted a 12 drop in membership revenue in its recent quarter. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.

Stocks ended around session highs as crude oil roared to its highest settlement of 2016. Commodities got a boost after a smaller-than-expected build in U.S. inventories over the past week and on reports Russia and several OPEC members might meet again to discuss capping production. Printing company Lexmark surged after agreeing to be acquired by a consortium of Asian buyers, including Apex Technology of China. The $3.6 billion deal values Lexmark at a 17% premium to Tuesday's close. Discover Financial jumped after beating analysts' estimates on the top- and bottom-line. Hershey slipped after a two-notch downgrade from Bank of America to UNDERWEIGHT.

Wall Street was pulled in two directions: crude oil pushed energy stocks north, while a selloff in IBM and Netflix pulled the tech sector south. The dueling forces led to a mixed session with the S&P 500 ending higher, while the Nasdaq sank. Viacom fell after warning Dish Network subscribers that they could lose channels such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. The companies' current carriage deal is set to expire at the end of the day Wednesday and no renewal deal has been made. General Motors reported a nearly 3% decline in worldwide sales in its first quarter as South American and Asian markets continued to underperform. Its largest brand Chevrolet saw a 13% decline in global sales.