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The S&P 500 touched a new record on Thursday, joining the Dow Jones Industrial Average in wiping out a two-month swoon amid strong profits and year-end optimism.
The 30-stock index retreated 6.26 points to 35,603.08, dragged down by a 9.5% loss in IBM.
The S&P 500 regained 13.59 points to 4,549.79,
The NASDAQ Composite gained 94.02 points to 15,215.70.
Tesla did a lot of the heavy lifting for the S&P 500, jumping 3% following strong earnings from the electric vehicle maker. The S&P 500 has mounted a comeback this month as booming profit reports trumped worries about inflation and a potential end to Federal Reserve bond buying. The S&P 500 is now up 1.75% for the week and 5% on the month.
HP Inc. jumped 6.9% on strong earnings and raised guidance for 2022.
Other big tech stocks also helped lift the market. Nvidia and Netflix shares soared.
Outside of tech, American Airlines added 1.9% after it posted a profit due to federal aid for the third quarter.
IBM shares lost more than 9% and were the worst performer in the Dow following a revenue miss in the third quarter. Its top two business segments — global services and the Cloud & Cognitive Software business — fell short of estimates.
However investors looked at IBM as an isolated case. Investors have been monitoring the third-quarter earnings season to assess profit growth as well as signs of cost pressures and supply-chain disruptions for the rest of the year.
Shares of WeWork jumped 13% in their trading debut on Thursday. The office startup went public through a special purpose acquisition company more than two years after its failed IPO.
The U.S. Labor Department reported 290,000 initial jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 16, which is down from the previous week by 6,000 and lower than the 300,000 estimated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Investors are watching to see if jobless claims continue to fall, as the Federal Reserve has indicated it will start to normalize its monetary policy as the central bank nears its economic goals.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys fell slightly, raising yields to 1.69% from Wednesday’s 1.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 75 cents to $82.67 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices poked upward 40 cents to $1,784.50 U.S. an ounce.
