NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� U.S. stocks closed higher and trimmed their losses for the week. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% Thursday, a day after swinging sharply when the Federal Reserve said it鈥檚 likely delaying cuts to interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.5%. Qualcomm, Carvana and other companies helped lead the market after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than expected. Treasury yields eased in the bond market following reports on joblessness and worker productivity. Friday鈥檚 monthly update on the U.S. job market will likely be more impactful.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP鈥檚 earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� U.S. stocks are rising Thursday to trim their losses for the week.
The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher in late trading, a day after swinging sharply when the Federal Reserve said but not planning to hike them. It more than halved its drop for the week following the Fed's announcement, which was largely seen as less harsh than feared.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 334 points, or 0.9%, with a little less than an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.5% higher.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were easing ahead of a report on Friday from the U.S. government on how many jobs employers added last month. It's one of the most highly anticipated economic reports each month, and economists expect it to show a slowdown in hiring.
鈥淭he markets will be hungry for any data suggesting the economy isn鈥檛 heating up any more than it did in鈥� the first three months of 2024, according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. That would give the Fed more leeway to consider cutting rates.
Earnings reports from several big companies helped drive the market higher. Qualcomm rose 10.1% after topping forecasts for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. The tech company also gave forecasted ranges for upcoming revenue and profit whose midpoints topped analysts鈥� expectations.
Carvana revved 32.5% higher after the used-car seller reported much better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected, boosted by better-than-forecast sales.
MGM Resorts International rose 2.9% after likewise topping forecasts for profit and revenue. It credited stronger traffic at MGM China, which ramped up as COVID-19 restrictions fell away in Macau.
Apple climbed 2.9% ahead of its profit report, scheduled to arrive after trading ends Thursday. It鈥檚 the latest to report among the group of stocks known as the 鈥淢agnificent Seven,鈥� which drove the majority of the market鈥檚 gains last year.
They helped to offset a 16.4% drop for Etsy, which only roughly matched analysts鈥� expectations for results and revenue. It cited a 鈥渟till challenging鈥� environment where customers broadly are more selective about the non-essentials they鈥檙e buying.
DoorDash sank 10.6% after . The company, which has been spending more on personnel and research and development, also gave a forecasted range for underlying earning trends in the current quarter whose midpoint fell short of analysts鈥� expectations.
Peloton Interactive swung from an early gain to a loss of 7.5% after it said it would cut roughly 400 jobs as part of a . It also said its CEO, Barry McCarthy, is stepping down. The company鈥檚 stock had fallen to a record low last week.
Linde was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500, sinking 4.9%, despite reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than expected. Revenue for the industrial gases and engineering company fell short of Wall Street鈥檚 expectations, as did the midpoint of its forecasted range for earnings in the current quarter.
In the bond market, which has been helping to dictate much of the stock market鈥檚 movements recently, yields were easing following some economic reports.
One showed that last week than economists expected. It鈥檚 the latest signal that the job market remains solid despite high interest rates.
A separate, potentially more disappointing report suggested growth in how much U.S. workers produced per hour worked was weaker at the start of 2024 than economists expected. A measure comparing labor costs to productivity, meanwhile, rose by more than expected in the preliminary report. That could put upward pressure on inflation, which is one of the biggest fears on Wall Street.
, where the hope is that it remains strong enough to stay out of a recession but not so strong that it worsens the .
Stubbornly high readings on inflation this year are what pushed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to say on Wednesday that it will likely take 鈥渓onger than previously expected鈥� to get enough confidence inflation is under control before it can cut interest rates.
The Fed鈥檚 main interest rate has been sitting at its highest level since 2001, and cuts would and financial markets.
After coming into the year cuts to rates in 2024, traders are now largely betting on just one or two, if any, according to data from CME Group.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.57% from 4.63% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.88% from 4.97%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Asia and Europe. Hong Kong鈥檚 Hang Seng jumped 2.5%, while other markets in China were closed for a holiday.
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AP writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
Stan Choe, The Associated Press
