THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Stocks edged higher in afternoon trading on
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of
Smaller-company stocks outpaced the broader market in a sign that investors were feeling confident about economic growth. The Russell 2000 rose 0.9%.
Technology stocks made the strongest gains, led by chipmakers. Nvidia rose 3.2% and Qualcomm rose 3.1%.
Banks also gained ground. Citigroup rose 1.1%.
Coach and
Health care and industrial stocks fell. Medical technology maker Medtronic shed 2.6% and Honeywell shed 1.8%.
The latest round of corporate earnings has been winding down. Weeks of solid financial reports helped the broader market rise and reach a series of records. Inflation concerns have been rattling investors throughout the week, however. The benchmark S&P 500 is on track for its first weekly loss after five straight weekly gains.
“It's a pretty simple rule to be long during earnings and cautious outside of earnings,” said
Every major index slipped on Wednesday following a hotter-than-expected inflation report from the
The inflation concerns pushed bond yields broadly higher on Wednesday, though the bond market was closed for
Companies have been warning that they are being squeezed by higher raw materials costs and supply chain problems. Many have been able to pass off those higher costs to consumers, but that has raised concerns about higher prices eventually prompting a pullback in consumer spending.
The latest report on consumer prices revealed that inflation is hitting essential items such as food, rent, autos and heating oil particularly hard. Analysts worry that consumers could cut spending on discretionary items to focus on essentials, which could then crimp the broader economic recovery.
Concerns about rising inflation are also raising expectations that the
“The weird thing is what’s hurting the economy is also supporting the stock market,” Hatfield said, referring to the Fed's stimulus measures.
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