NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Thursday as traders cheered strong earnings reports from several big U.S. companies
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 10:20 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 245 points, or 0.7%, to 35,412 and the Nasdaq rose 0.8%.
Technology stocks helped with much of the heavy lifting. Apple rose 1.8% and Microsoft gained 1.3%.
American Airlines jumped 7.3% after telling investors it expects to turn a profit in the second quarter as more people return to travel. That upbeat outlook helped push rival airlines higher, as well as other companies within the travel industry. Expedia rose 4.3% and Marriott rose 1.8%.
Tesla surged 8.3% after after the maker of electric cars and solar panels reported strong sales and a seven-fold increase in profits despite global supply chain kinks.
The solid earnings reports helped give the broader market more direction following a bumpy day of trading on Wednesday in what has been a choppy week. Major indexes are still on track for weekly gains. Investors are reviewing the latest round of corporate earnings amid lingering concerns about rising inflation and the Federal Reserve’s shift away from an ultra-low interest rate policy.
The Fed has already announced a quarter-percentage point rate hike and Wall Street expects a half-percentage rate hike at its next meeting in two weeks. Other central banks have also moved to raise interest rates to try and temper the impact of rising prices on businesses and consumers.
Bond yields have been gaining ground as investors prepare for higher interest rates. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.90% from 2.84%, hovering near its highest level since late 2018.
Investors have been closely listening to comments from Fed officials and other central bank members and will turn their attention to a panel discussion Thursday with Fed Chair Jerome Powell and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Central bank officials and economists have been warning about slower economic growth as the world moves past the initial surge in activity as the pandemic subsided and persistently rising inflation crimps spending. Concerns about a slowdown have been elevated since Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting a jump in energy and commodity prices that could prolong rising inflation.
U.S. crude oil prices rose 2.5% on Thursday and are up roughly 40% for the year. That has made gasoline more expensive, which cuts deeper into consumers’ wallets. Prices for wheat and corn have also jumped, as Ukraine is a key global producer of both. Those staples are key ingredients in a wide range of food products.
Rising prices on everything from food to clothing and uncertainty over the inflation have been lingering over the economy even as it continues to show more signs of recovery from the virus pandemic. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits inched down last week as the total number of Americans collecting aid fell to its lowest level in more than 50 years.
