NEW YORK (AP) โ U.S. stocks are drifting Thursday as momentum cools after their record jumps the previous day.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 36 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. ET, and the Nasdaq composite was broadly flat. All three hit record highs on Wednesday.
Walmart rose 6.4% after reporting higher earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said its revenue for the year could exceed the forecast range it had previously given. This could be an encouraging sign for the broader economy, as concerns have grown about whether American households will be able to keep up with still-high inflation and more expensive credit card payments.
Target, which will report its quarterly results next week, also rose, along with other retailers such as Dollar General.
Chubb rose 5.5% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed it had acquired a stake in the insurer.
Better-than-expected earnings reports have been one of the main reasons U.S. stock indexes hit highs in May after their difficult April. Another has been the resurgence of hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut its main interest rate at least once or twice this year.
A series of worse-than-expected inflation reports earlier in the year had jeopardized the possibility of such cuts, but some more encouraging data has since arrived.
Treasury yields have fallen in May as hopes grew that the economy could reach the long-awaited sweet spot, where it cools enough to quell high inflation but not enough to cause a bad recession. Yields were relatively stable on Thursday following some mixed data on the economy.
A report showed that slightly more workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, although the number is still low compared to history. Others said homebuilders broke ground on fewer projects last month than expected, that manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region was weaker than expected and that import prices rose more than expected.
"Today's numbers were in line with the overall theme of the week: nothing dramatic, but showing signs of an economy stabilizing or cooling," said Chris Larkin, managing director of E-Trade trading and investing at Morgan Stanley. .
The 10-year Treasury yield was steady at 4.35%. The two-year yield, which is closest to expectations for action by the Federal Reserve, rose to 4.77% from 4.72% on Wednesday.
On the losing side of Wall Street, Deere fell 2.2% despite reporting stronger-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter. It cut its profit forecast for the full fiscal year below analyst estimates as farmers buy fewer tractors and other equipment.
GameStop and AMC Entertainment also fell for the second day in a row, retreating further from their stunning starts to the week. They have been moved more by the enthusiasm generated by investors than by any change in their financial prospects.
GameStop fell 18%, although it is still up 85% so far this week. AMC Entertainment lost 9.8%.
In foreign stock markets, indices fell modestly in much of Europe after rising mainly in Asia. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.6% after reopening after a holiday, while Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%.
___
AP Business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
