NEW YORK (AP) — US. stocks are ticking higher as they get pulled in opposite directions by competing waves of optimism and fear Friday. Several of the biggest U.
— US. stocks are ticking higher as they get pulled in opposite directions by competing waves of optimism and fear Friday.
Several of the biggest U.S. banks said their profits during the summer were better than feared, which offered hope for an earning reporting season that may deliver the first growth in a year. But worries about the latest war in Gaza at the same time sent oil prices jumping and Treasury yields falling.
All the push and pull left the S&P 500 up 0.6% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 290 points, or 0.9%, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
Some of the strongest action was in the oil market, where a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 3.3% to $85.64. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.5% to $89.00per barrel.
Israel’s military ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza ahead of an expected ground invasion against the ruling Hamas militant group, according to the United Nations, which warned that so many people fleeing at once could be calamitous.
