NEW YORK– Wall Street had a mixed performance on Thursday after Tesla rose to one of the best days in its history, while IBM fell to its worst in six months.
The S&The P 500 rose 0.2%, breaking its first three-day losing streak since early September. The price fluctuated between losses and gains all day, and was about evenly split between rising and falling stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 140 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq index rose 0.8%.
Tesla led the market with a 21.9% jump after the electric vehicle maker reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. An optimistic CEO Elon Musk also forecast revenue growth of 20% to 30% next year, although sales for the latest quarter fell short of analyst expectations. It was the best day for Tesla shares since 2013.
UPS climbed 5.3% after also beating analysts’ profit expectations. The package delivery company’s finances can provide insight into the strength of the economy, due to the large number of different types of customers it serves and revenue that exceeds expectations.
ServiceNow, whose platform helps companies automate and connect processes, was one of the strongest forces driving the S&P500. It rose 5.4% after stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue, driven by customers’ interest in integrating artificial intelligence technology.
Such gains helped offset a 6.2% decline for IBM, which reported revenue for the latest quarter that just missed analyst expectations. It was the biggest reason the Dow Jones lagged other indexes.
Boeing was a different weight, falling 1.2% after its machinists voted for it continue their strikewhich has paralyzed aircraft production. More than 60% of union members who voted on the proposed contract rejected it, leaving them holding the line six weeks after their strike.
Union Pacific fell 4.4% after the crisis railroad reported slightly weaker earnings and turnover than expected.
All in all, the S&The P500 rose 12.44 points to 5,809.86. The Dow Jones fell 140.59 to 42,374.36 and the Nasdaq index rose 138.83 to 18,415.49.
Stocks have largely retreated this week after the S&P500 and Dow both set records late last week. They have been hit by rising government bond yields in the bond market, which may make investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks. Critics had previously said that stocks looked too expensive, given that their prices have risen much faster than corporate profits.
Revenues have increased, as report after report has shown American economy stays stronger than expected. That’s good news for Wall Street, because it boosts hopes that the economy can do the same escape of the the worst inflation in generations without the painful part recession which many had worried was inevitable.
But it’s also forcing traders to dial back forecasts of how deeply the Federal Reserve will cut rates, now that it’s as focused on keeping the economy afloat as it is on lowering inflation. As expectations decline about the extent to which the Fed will ultimately cut overnight rates, Treasury yields have also regained some of their earlier declines.
An unemployment claims report will be provided Thursday a mixed picture on the labor market. It said fewer workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, which could signal relatively low layoffs. But it also said the total number of people receiving benefits rose to the highest level in almost three years.
Overall, the numbers show a slowing economy, “but there are no signs of an employment crash or a wave of layoffs in this data,” said Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics.
Treasury yields, which had fallen overnight, pared their losses after the release of the unemployment benefits report, before yo-yoing. The yield on the 10-year government bond fell to 4.20% from 4.25% late Wednesday. It is still well above the 4.08% level at the end of last week.
A separate preliminary report said growth in U.S. business activity may have accelerated slightly last month as the strength of service sector companies continues to offset weakness in the manufacturing sector. S.’s report&P Global also showed a recovery in confidence as companies anticipate greater stability and certainty following the upcoming presidential elections.
A third report, meanwhile, said new home sales last month were stronger than economists expected.
On foreign stock markets, indexes were slightly higher in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia.
___
AP Business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.