US Stocks Rise; On Track For Winning Week

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping major indexes on track for weekly gains after several days of up-and-down trading.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1% as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 362 points, or 1.2%, to 30,678 and the Nasdaq rose 0.7%.

Technology and health care companies has some of the strongest gains. Apple rose 1.2% and Pfizer rose 4.3%.

Social media companies were broadly lower after Snapchat's parent company issued a weak forecast and the Washington Post reported that Elon Musk plans to slash about three-quarters of the payroll at Twitter after he buys the company. Snap slumped 29.2% and Twitter shed 4.3%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects mortgage rates, remained relatively stable at 4.24% from late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which tends to track investors' expectations for Federal Reserve action on interest rates, fell to 4.53% from 4.61%.

Markets have been unsettled in recent days. Stocks lurched from sharp gains early in the week to losses later in the week. The benchmark S&P 500 and other major indexes are all still on track for weekly gains in what has been an encouraging October so far.

Investors have shifted their focus, for now, to the latest round of corporate earnings as they look for more clues about how hot inflation and rising interest rates are shaping the economy. Reports from airlines, banks, railroad operators and others have so far provided mixed financial results and forecasts.

American Express fell 5.5% after setting aside hundreds of millions of dollars to cover potential losses as the economy continues to deteriorate. Railroad CSX fell rose 1.7% after reporting solid financial results.

Investors remain concerned about inflation and the Federal Reserve's attempt to cool hot prices on everything from food to clothing by raising interest rates aggressively. Higher interest rates tend to discourage borrowing and investments, slowing economic activity. That could tip economies into recession.

The latest inflation data from Japan is another reminder that stubbornly high prices remain a global problem. Japan's core consumer prices rose 3.0% in September from a year earlier, according to government data released Friday. That was the highest increase in eight years.