Stocks tick higher on Wall Street after long losing streak

By STAN CHOE
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ticking higher on Wall Street Thursday, firming a bit following their longest losing streak in two months.

The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher in morning trading after falling for four straight days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 99 points, or 0.3%, at 33,144, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.

Tech stocks were helping to lead the way after Nvidia reported better results for the latest quarter than expected, thanks to recovering strength in video gaming and demand for artificial intelligence products. Its shares jumped 14.5% after it also gave a forecast for upcoming revenue that topped some analysts’ expectations.

It’s a turnaround for tech and high-growth stocks, which have struggled recently because of worries about rising interest rates. They’re seen as some of the most vulnerable as the Federal Reserve jacks rates higher in hopes of stamping out inflation.

High rates hurt investments seen as the riskiest, most expensive or whose big growth is furthest out in the future. They also raise the risk of a recession because they slow the economy.

Stocks have slammed into a wall this month after leaping in January as Wall Street raised its forecasts for how high the Fed will take rates and then how long it will keep them there. Several reports on the economy have come in stronger than expected and forced the sharp recalibration, which has brought traders’ expectations closer to what the Fed has long been saying it would do.

While strength in the economy eases fears about an imminent recession, it also can feed into upward pressure on inflation. The latest economic data released on Thursday also suggested an economy with enough strength to encourage the Fed to keep up its campaign on rates.

Fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected, another indication that the job market remains resilient despite the fastest increase in rates in decades.

A separate report said the U.S. economy’s growth was likely a touch weaker in the last three months of 2022 than earlier estimated. But it still grew at a 2.7% annual rate.

Wall Street’s heightened expectations for the Fed have been most evident in the bond market, where Treasury yields have shot higher this month. They were easing a bit on Thursday, taking some pressure off stocks.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, dipped to 3.91% from 3.93% late Wednesday.

The two-year yield, which tends to move more on expectations for the Fed, dipped to 4.69% from 4.70% late Wednesday.

Besides Nvidia, other big tech stocks leading the way for the market included chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, which rose 4.3%, and Microsoft, which gained 1.6%.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Moderna, whose shares slid 6.7% after it reported its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 70% as COVID-19 vaccine sales fell and the drugmaker caught up on a royalty payment.

Domino’s Pizza dropped 10.7% despite reporting stronger profit than expected. Its revenue fell short of forecasts, and it lowered the top and bottom ends of its forecasted range for global sales growth in the next two to three years.

Lordstown Motors tumbled 9.7% to $1.11 after it said it’s temporarily halting production and deliveries of its Endurance electric pickup due to performance and quality issues with certain components.

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AP Business Writers Joe McDonald and Matt Ott contributed.