Stocks ended mostly higher on Wall Street after a listless day of trading Wednesday.
- The S&P 500 rose 6.29 points, or 0.1%, to 4,981.80.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48.44 points, or 0.1%, to 38,612.24.
- The Nasdaq composite fell 49.91 points, or 0.3%, to 15,580.87 .
Palo Alto Networks sank 28.4%. The network security company forecast billings that came in well below what analysts were looking for, the
AP reports. Energy companies gained ground as natural gas prices jumped 9%. Exxon Mobil rose 2%.
Amazon rose 0.9% following an announcement that it would be added to the Dow next week. Walgreens Boots Alliance, which Amazon is replacing in the index, fell 2.5%. Several other companies made big moves following the release of their financial results. Electronic measurement technology company Keysight Technologies fell 6.7% after its profit forecast fell short of analysts' expectations. Garmin, which makes personal navigation devices, jumped 8.8% after beating earnings forecasts. Toll Brothers rose 4% after giving investors an encouraging financial update as it sees strong demand. That helped support gains throughout the homebuilding sector.
The Federal Reserve released minutes from its latest meeting in January that showed most officials are worried about moving too fast to cut their benchmark interest. The central bank left the rate alone for the fourth time in a row at that meeting. Investors have all but lost hope that the central bank will cut rates at its March meeting and are looking for the first rate cut to come in June. Investors have to wait until next week for another key update on inflation. That's when the government will release its monthly report on personal consumption and expenses, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.
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