US Stocks surged in morning trading on Wall Street
Thursday, but major indexes remained unsettled as more big companies report
quarterly earnings. The S&P 500 rose 21.15 points or 0.55% to 3,851.75 as
of 10:22 Eastern time. More than 8-% of equities within the benchmark index gained
ground, but a fall in several big technology stocks with expensive valuations
offset some of those gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 484.01 points or
1.52% to 32,323.12. Construction equipment maker Caterpillar surged 10% and
contributed greatly to the index’s gains after it reported better-than-expected
third-quarter results.

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The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 9.40 points or 0.086% to
10,961.59. Social media giant Meta Platforms plunged 22.1% after reporting a
second straight quarter of revenue decline amid falling advertising sales and
stiff competition from Tiktok. Other tech and communication companies such as
Alphabet and Microsoft also reported weak results and worrisome forecasts
regarding advertising demand.

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Long-term Treasury yields fell. The yield on the 10-year
Treasury, which helps determine mortgage rates, slipped to 3.94% from 4.01%
late Wednesday. The two-year yield slipped to 4.37% from 4.42%.

Investors have been closely watching quarterly earnings
reports, but markets got some upbeat economic news Thursday as the government
reported the US economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6%. That
marks a turnaround after the economy shrank during the first half of the year.

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The economy has been facing pressure from stubbornly high
inflation and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to hike interest rates to cool
prices. The central bank is trying to slow economic growth through rate
increases, but the strategy risks going too far and putting the economy into
recession.

The increasing interest rates have made borrowing more
difficult, particularly with mortgage rates. Average long-term US mortgage
rates rose above 7% for the first time in more than two decades this week.

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Wall Street is focused on economic data for any signs of a
slowdown or that inflation might be falling as Wall Street attempts to
determine if and when the Fed might pull back on its interest rate hikes.

The Fed is likely to hike interest rates by 75 basis points
at its upcoming meeting in November. Central banks around the world have also
been raising interest rates to combat inflation. The European Central Bank
(ECB) announced another outsized interest rate hike on Thursday. European stock
markets were mixed.

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Wall Street has more earning reports to review later
Thursday. Amazon and Apple will report results after the market closes. Exxon
Mobil will report its latest financial results on Friday.