Stocks inched higher in early trading Thursday after two straight days of gains have taken major indexes back near all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% about 15 minutes after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each added 0.3%. Stocks are coming off of two winning sessions after a rocky start to the week, as concerns about the possible impact of U.S. tariffs have subsided, while quarterly corporate results have been generally strong.
The Dow and S&P 500 entered Thursday’s session less than 1% away from their all-time closing highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is 2.4% below its record close.
Several noteworthy stocks were on the move this morning after the release of earnings reports. Eli Lilly (LLY) was up 3% after the drugmaker’s adjusted earnings were higher-than-expected while revenue came in soft. Ford (F) was down 5% after the automaker reported strong fourth-quarter results but issued a disappointing outlook. Qualcomm (QCOM) shares also dropped 5% even as the chipmaker’s results topped analysts’ estimates.
Among other big post-earnings movers, tobacco company Philip Morris (PM) rose 11%, retailer Ralph Lauren (RL) jumped 14% and exercise equipment maker Peloton (PTON) soared 24%.
Shares of Dow component Honeywell International (HON) were down 4% after the conglomerate said it will split into three independent, publicly traded companies.
Large-cap tech stocks were mixed in early trading. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) were gaining ground, while Alphabet (GOOGL), Tesla (TSLA) and Broadcom (AVGO) slipped. Amazon is due to release its quarterly results after the closing bell.
Investors are eagerly awaiting the January jobs report, which is scheduled for release before the opening bell on Friday. Market participants are looking for information that could affect the Federal Reserve’s decision-making on interest rates, and labor market data are among the key inputs for the central bank.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is correlated with expectations about where interest rates are headed, was at 4.43% in recent trading, up from 4.42% at Wednesday’s close.
Bitcoin was little-changed at $97,900, while gold futures were down slightly at around $2,880 an ounce, after hitting a record high yesterday, and WTI crude oil futures rose 0.6%.
