Stocks Turn Choppy in Morning Trade

(AP) -- Stocks wobbled between small gains and losses in morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday as losses for some big technology stocks blunted gains elsewhere in the market.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 10:16 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26 points, or 0.1%, to 35,745 and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%.

The muted trading for the benchmark S&P 500 index follows a two-day rally that included its biggest gain since March. The rally also nearly erased its losses from the last two weeks.

Communications stocks made solid gains. Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 2.2% and Twitter rose 2.4%.

A wide range of travel-related companies gained ground in a sign that investors confident that the industry will continue its recovery despite the threat from the omicron variant of COVID-19. Booking Holdings rose 2.6%, Wynn Resorts rose 4.1% and Carnival rose 7.8%.

Industrial and energy stocks also made gains, along with smaller company stocks. The Russell 2000 index rose 0.4%.

Technology stocks, and several big chipmakers in particular, fell and countered gains elsewhere in the market. Nvidia shed 1.5% and NXP Semiconductors fell 5.7%.

Bond yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.50% from 1.48% late Tuesday.

Markets in Asia and Europe were mostly higher. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 1.4% as economists are forecasting a rebound for the world's third largest economy in the current quarter after coronavirus caseloads plummeted.

Germany's Dax fell 0.6% as Germany's parliament elected Olaf Scholz as the country's ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the European Union's largest economy after Angela Merkel's 16-year tenure.

Stocks have been mostly making gains since Monday following comments from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical adviser, who said early indications suggested that omicron may be less dangerous than the delta variant. Markets had slipped the previous two weeks over several concerns, including rising inflation, the newest coronavirus variant and how both issues could impact economic growth.

Investors could get more insight into how the economy is faring later this week and next week. On Friday, the Labor Department will give an update on how rising prices are impacting consumers with the release of its Consumer Price Index for November.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to hold a two-day meeting of policymakers next week that could offer an update on the central bank's plans to tackle inflation. The Fed has said it plans to speed up the pace at which it trims its bond purchases, which have helped keep interest rates low. That has raised concerns that the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rates next year sooner than expected.