Investing.com– U.S. stocks edged higher Thursday, rebounding after another negative session as investors digested more quarterly earnings, including from streaming giant Netflix.
At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 150 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 climbed 9 points, or 0.2%, while NASDAQ Composite traded largely flat.
Wall Street indexes fell for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, hit by steep losses in chipmaking stocks following weaker-than-expected earnings from Dutch semiconductor technology giant ASML (AS:ASML).
Broader markets were pressured by a spike in Treasury yields, following signs of sticky U.S. inflation and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve.
Netflix earnings due after the close
There are more earnings to focus on Thursday, with TSMC (NYSE:TSM), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, impressing with its jump in first-quarter profit earlier Thursday, benefiting from strong demand for all things AI.
Video streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is set to report first-quarter earnings after the close Thursday, while asset manager Blackstone (NYSE:BX), the world’s largest private equity firm, said its first-quarter distributable earnings rose 1% year-on-year supported by growth in fee-related earnings that was partly offset by a decline in income from asset divestments.
Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) stock rose 3% after the carrier forecast current-quarter profit above estimates as soaring travel demand drove expectations of a strong summer season.
Aluminum producer Alcoa (NYSE:AA) stock rose 2% after its earnings topped estimates, and it flagged steady production in 2024.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) fell slightly despite reports that the memory chip maker was set to receive over $6 billion in government grants, while credit reporting agency Equifax (NYSE:EFX) plummeted nearly 10% after posting weaker-than-expected guidance.
Casino operator Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) fell over 5% despite beating profit expectations, as underperformance at its Macau operations remained a point of concern.
Jobless claims data in spotlight
Initial jobless claims data were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 212,000 for the week ended April 13, pointing to continued labor market strength, while the existing home sales report for March is also due.
Investors will be looking for further clues about the strength of the U.S. economy amid growth concerns that the Federal Reserve will delay interest rate cuts until the second half of the year.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester said on Wednesday she expects price pressures to ease further this year, allowing the Fed to reduce borrowing costs, but only when it is “pretty confident” inflation is heading sustainably to its 2% goal.
Her colleague, Mary Daly, the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, said at the start of the week that there is “no urgency” to cut U.S. interest rates, with the economy and labor market strong, and inflation still above the Fed’s target of 2%.
Crude weakens once more
Crude prices edged higher Thursday, rebounding after recent losses after the Biden administration reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s crude exports after President Nicolas Maduro failed to meet initial promises to hold national elections.
By 09:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% higher at $83.05 a barrel, while the Brent contract traded 0.2% higher at $87.46 per barrel.
The news that the U.S. government has decided to reimpose oil sanctions on Venezuela has provided an element of support, along with the elevated geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
However, bets on tighter markets were offset by data showing record-high U.S. production and a substantial build in inventories.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
