Stocks are mostly higher in morning trading on Thursday, partly offsetting the sharp pullback seen in the previous session. The major averages showed strong moves to the upside early in the session but have given back some ground since then.
Currently, the major averages remain in positive territory. The Dow is up 207.06 points or 0.6 percent at 34,156.07, the Nasdaq is up 82.97 points or 0.7 percent at 11,993.49 and the S&P 500 is up 21.02 points or 0.5 percent at 4,138.88.
The initial rebound on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to the latest batch of corporate earnings news.
Shares of Disney (DIS) moved sharply higher at the start of trading after the entertainment giant reported better than expected fiscal first quarter results. Disney has pulled back well off its highs since then but remained up by 2.0 percent.
Disney CEO Bob Iger also announced the company would be cutting 7,000 jobs as part of a broader cost-cutting and restructuring plan.
Snack and beverage giant PepsiCo (PEP) has also moved to the upside after reporting fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates, raising its annualized dividend by 10 percent and announcing a $1.0 billion stock buyback.
Meanwhile, shares of Mattel (MAT) have plunged by 10.5 percent after the toymaker reported fourth quarter results that missed analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded by slightly more than expected in the week ended February 4th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 196,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 183,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 190,000.
The uptick came after jobless claims decreased in four out of the five previous weeks, falling to their lowest level since hitting 181,000 in the week ended April 23, 2022.
Semiconductor stocks are seeing significant strength on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.3 percent.
Considerable strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Software, pharmaceutical and housing stocks are also seeing notable strength, while oil service and airline stocks have moved to the downside.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. While China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.2 percent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has climbed by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.0 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back off their highs of the session but remain in positive territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.4 basis points at 3.609 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Pull Back Off Early Highs But Remain Mostly Positive
2023-02-09 15:46:42
