The stock market moved higher Wednesday morning, with the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) leading the way up with gains of about two-thirds of a percent. Despite some readings on inflation at the producer level that were higher than many had expected, investors still seem comfortable that interest rates have just about reached their peak levels. If that's the case, the bullish argument is that any slowing in the economy will be temporary and give way to looser monetary policy in the near future.

Energy stocks have gotten more attention lately, as volatile prices of crude oil worldwide have been a key factor for oil and gas production companies to take into consideration. Consolidation in the industry has been a theme for a while now, and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) did its part by finalizing a deal to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD). Yet a completely different energy stock, Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), posted bigger stock-price gains than Pioneer.

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Source Fool.com