Stock market today: Wall Street holds steadier as Tesla surges

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is holding steadier on Thursday, thanks in part to a surge for Tesla’s stock.

The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading and on track to break its first three-day losing streak since early September. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lagging the rest of the market with a drop of 110 points, or 0.3%.

Tesla led the way with a gain of 16.1% after the electric-vehicle maker reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. An optimistic CEO Elon Musk also predicted 20% to 30% sales growth next year, though its revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ forecasts.

UPS jumped 9.7% after likewise topping analysts’ forecasts for profit. The package-delivery company’s finances can offer a window into the strength of the economy because of how many different types of customers it serves, and its revenue edged past expectations.

Lam Research, a supplier to the semiconductor industry, was another winner and rose 5.8% after delivering stronger profit than expected.

Helping to keep indexes in check was IBM fell 6.2% after reporting revenue for the latest quarter that fell just short of analysts’ expectations. It was the single biggest reason the Dow was lagging behind other indexes.

Boeing sank 2.4% after its machinists voted to continue their strike, which has crippled aircraft production. More than 60% of union members who voted on the proposed contract rejected it, keeping them on the picket lines six weeks into their strike.

Stocks have broadly regressed this week after the S&P 500 and Dow both set records at the end of last week. They’ve been hit by rising Treasury yields in the bond market, which can make investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks. Critics say stocks already look too expensive given how much faster their prices have risen than corporate profits.

Yields have climbed as report after report has shown the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected. That’s good news for Wall Street, because it bolsters hopes that the economy can escape from the worst inflation in generations without the painful recession that many had worried was inevitable.

But it’s also forcing traders to ratchet back their forecasts for how deeply the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, now that it’s just as focused on keeping the economy humming as getting inflation lower. With bets diminishing on how deeply the Fed will ultimately cut its overnight interest rate, Treasury yields have also been giving up some of their earlier declines.

A report on unemployment claims Thursday offered a mixed picture on the job market. It said fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, which can be a signal of relatively low layoffs. But it also said the total number of those collecting benefits rose to its highest level in almost three years.

Altogether, the numbers show a slowing economy, “but there is no sign of a crash in employment or a surge of layoffs in these data,” according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi at High Frequency Economics.

Treasury yields, which had eased overnight, pared their losses after the release of the unemployment claims report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.22%, down from 4.25% late Wednesday. It’s still well above its 4.08% level from late last week.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were modestly higher in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Stock market today: Wall Street holds steadier as Tesla surges | News