US stocks rose in morning trading Thursday as markets searched for direction amid mixed earnings news. S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 10:13 AM EST. Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 339 points, or 0.1%, to 30,757, and Nasdaq climbed 1%. Increasing Treasury yields have pushed mortgage and other loan rates higher. Treasury yields have risen to their highest levels in 14 years, rising from 4.14% late Wednesday to 4.15. The two-year Treasury yield, which tracks Federal Reserve expectations, rose to 4.57% from 4.56%.
As investors try to understand how companies are faring amid the hottest inflation in four decades and how they see the economy moving forward, earnings have been the key focus all week. Investors have been disappointed by weak or worrisome results from several big companies so far. After saying it would miss its vehicle delivery target, Tesla fell 5.1%. US railroad Union Pacific dropped 3.6% following slower growth predictions. In its latest results, CSX fell 0.5%. Following its results, American Airlines declined 2%.
Stocks in technology rose. Microsoft gained 1.6%. Energy stocks gained 2.7% as U.S. oil prices increased. Chevron climbed 1.7%. European markets mostly rose. A series of policy U-turns caused financial market turmoil, forcing Liz Truss to resign. Inflation and recession remain concerns for investors. In order to slow economic growth and tame high prices, Wall Street is particularly worried about the Fed’s interest rate hikes. The U.S. economy is already slowing, and the Fed’s plan risks stalling it.