Major averages showed broad gains and were near session highs with a little more than one hour remaining in Wednesday’s session. The Nasdaq jumped 2.1% and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.8% each. The Dow was helped by strong earnings from Caterpillar (CAT) and 3M (MMM). Caterpillar jumped 5.5%, while 3M gained 5%. NYSE and Nasdaq volume was tracking slightly below Wednesday’s levels.