NEW YORK — Stocks swayed in morning trading on Wall Street Thursday as a wide variety of companies reported their latest financial results.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent and is hovering around the record it set on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21 points, or less than 0.1 per cent, as of 9:53 a.m. Eastern time, and is also hovering around its record. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2 per cent.
Wall Street opened the week soaring higher and notching records, but has calmed over the last two days. Companies from a mix of sectors reported their latest financial results, adding to an already busy round of corporate earnings reports.
Keurig Dr Pepper rose 1 per cent after reporting earnings and revenue that came in ahead of what investors were expecting. Molson Coors rose 1 per cent after also reporting encouraging financial results.
On the losing end, Honeywell Aerospace fell 21 per cent after turning in results that fell well short of forecasts. AppLovin slumped 19.6 per cent after the digital ad company reported mixed financial results for its most recent quarter.
Outside of earnings SpaceX rose 0.6 per cent. More than 911 million SpaceX shares held by early investors and employees become eligible for sale on Thursday as a lockup period for the stock expires. That is more than double the shares that were initially offered to the public for sale during the initial public offering for Elon Musk’s company. SpaceX initially soared above the share’s US$150 asking price, making Musk the world’s first trillionaire. They have since tumbled about 25 per cent, and were trading around US$110.
Oil prices gained ground as uncertainty remains over the U.S. war with Iran that has stifled the global flow of oil. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.7 per cent to US$80.78.
Iran has said that it is close to a deal with Oman to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has also previously said a deal is close, but the conflict has had many starts and stops over the last five months.
The increase in oil prices has added more heat to inflation by raising the price of gasoline and raising costs for shipping.
Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.64 per cent from 4.63 per cent late Wednesday.
European markets were higher, and Asian markets closed mostly lower overnight.
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Damian J. Troise, The Associated Press
Associated Press writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report.
