NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are volatile again on a quiet Thursday after a second straight day of little movement in indexes.
The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading. As of 9:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 38 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.3%.
Reports indicating increased layoffs supported market stability. The number of workers applying for unemployment benefits exceeded economists’ expectations last week, but remains relatively low compared to the past.
This could be a sign that the economy can strike the hoped-for balance of remaining strong enough to avoid a deep recession but not so strong as to put upward pressure on inflation. Treasury yields erased earlier gains shortly after the report’s release, raising hopes that the report will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, a long-desired move.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, some stocks soared after the latest earnings reports.
Equinix soared 11.2% after reporting its latest quarterly profit that beat analysts’ expectations. The company, which operates data centers around the world, also said an independent review led by its board of directors found no accounting discrepancies or errors that would require a financial restatement. An investment firm previously accused the company of “massive accounting manipulation.”
Robinhood Markets rose 1.2% as profit and revenue beat analysts’ expectations. It showed widespread growth, especially from customers trading cryptocurrencies.
Airbnb also fell 6.9% despite better-than-expected profits and sales. It provided an expected range of sales for the current quarter, but the midpoint was below analysts’ expectations. The company said much of its business this year was concentrated between the second and first quarters due to the early arrival of Easter.
U.S.-listed shares of Arm Holdings fell 6.6% despite the company announcing better-than-expected profits and sales for its latest quarter. The UK-based semiconductor company released its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year, with the midpoint slightly below analysts’ expectations.
Beyond Meat, which makes plant-based meat substitutes, fell 11.8% as demand continued to plummet, posting a much worse-than-expected loss than analysts expected.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell slightly to 4.49% from 4.50% late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more accurately reflects expectations for the Fed, fell to 4.82% from 4.84% late Wednesday.
Despite continued high inflation this year, Treasury yields have fallen since Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week that the central bank was still closer to cutting than raising key interest rates. It is generally decreasing. Meanwhile, Friday’s weaker-than-expected jobs report suggested the U.S. economy may be able to strike a delicate balance, avoiding getting too cold or too hot.
Overseas stock market indexes rose slightly in London and other European markets after the Bank of England signaled it could soon cut its key interest rate from a 16-year high.
In Asia, the index was mixed. Prices rose 1.2% in Hong Kong and 0.8% in Shanghai after China announced that exports rose 1.5% and imports rose 8.4% in April compared to the same month last year. The new growth suggests demand is recovering more strongly than previous data suggested.
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AP writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
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