Wall Street opens higher after several days of whiplash

The Associated Press

Stocks are off to a solid start on Wall Street Thursday as markets settle down following several days of whiplash moves both up and down. Investors were encouraged to see strong figures for U.S. economic growth, which showed the biggest climb in GDP last year since 1984. The S&P 500 was up 0.9%, led by technology companies and banks. Other major indexes were up similar amounts. Markets are still processing the latest indications from the Federal Reserve a day earlier that the central bank is increasingly concerned about inflation and plans to raise interest rates and take other steps soon to fight it.