WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the upside at the start of trading, stocks have seen considerable volatility over the course of the session on Thursday. While the Dow has climbed more firmly into positive territory, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have swung back and forth across the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are all in positive territory. The Dow is up 530.33 points or 1.1 percent at 49,392.14, the S&P 500 is up 28.67 points or 0.4 percent at 7,164.62 and the Nasdaq is up 43.87 points or 0.2 percent at 24,717.12.
The Dow is rebounding strongly after closing lower for five straight sessions, with Caterpillar (CAT) leading the blue chip index higher.
Shares of Caterpillar are spiking by 9 percent after the construction equipment maker reported better than expected first quarter results and raised its full-year revenue forecast.
The volatility being shown by the broader markets comes amid a mixed reaction to earnings news from several other big-name companies.
Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) are soaring by 19.2 percent after the chipmaker reported second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) is also surging by 7.4 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter revenues.
On the other hand, Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) and software giant Microsoft (MSFT) have moved sharply lower amid concerns about their plans to increase spending.
Shares of Amazon (AMZN) have also moved to the downside even though the online retail giant reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.
Traders are also keeping an eye on the price of crude oil, which is pulling back sharply after soaring over the past few sessions despite lingering concerns about the Middle East conflict.
Sector News
Pharmaceutical stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index surging by 3.5 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over four months.
Eli Lilly (LLY) has helped lead the sector higher, soaring by 8 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter results and raising its full-year sale outlook.
Gold stocks are also moving sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.2 percent.
Steel, networking and telecom stocks are also seeing significant strength on the day, while the steep drop by Microsoft is weighing on the software sector.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving notably lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.8 basis points at 4.390 percent.
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