US stocks end mostly up as Boeing surges

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished a volatile session mostly higher Wednesday with strong earnings from Boeing offsetting worries about higher interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3 per cent to close the session at 24,083.83.

The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.2 per cent to end at 2,639.40, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.1 per cent to 7,003.74.

Investor anxiety stayed elevated after Tuesday when the yield on the 10-year US Treasury hit 3.0 per cent for the first time in more than four years, raising concerns that lending rates will rise faster.

"There is a lot of buzz among strategists about the Fed raising rates three or even four more times this year, which is adding to the nervousness on Wall Street," said Ken Berman, strategist at Gorilla Trades.

"Rates have been pushed down since the 2008 financial meltdown, and now that they are coming back to 'normal' levels, it is creating a lot of confusion and concern."

But Boeing shares jumped 4.2 per cent after the aerospace giant reported a 56.9 per cent surge in first-quarter earnings to US$2.5 billion and lifted its full-year forecast. Executives said they were optimistic the US and China would avoid a trade war.

Twitter dropped 1.9 per cent despite US$61 million in first-quarter profits, its second straight month of positive earnings. Shares sold off after the company warned revenue growth would slow in the second half of the year.

General Electric slumped 4.3 per cent after Moody's place the company on credit watch negative. Executives pledged to turn around the slumping industrial giant at a bruising shareholder meeting.

AFP