But the blue-chip Dow Jones index was in the red, dragged down by a 4.2% fall in shares of 3M Co after the industrial conglomerate lowered its full-year profit forecast. The S&P 500 technology sector traded 1.5% higher, clocking the biggest gain among the 11 major S&P sectors, while the communication services sector slipped as Twitter Inc tumbled about 20% following disappointing quarterly results.
The earnings narrative so far has been fairly positive with over 80% of the 168 S&P 500 companies that have reported results beating profit expectations, according to Refinitiv data. Data on Thursday was mixed as new orders for key US-made capital goods fell more than expected in September, while a private survey showed higher-than-expected factory activity in the month of October.
At 12:55 pm ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 37.53 points, or 0.14%, at 26,796.42, the S&P 500 was up 4.14 points, or 0.14%, at 3,008.66. The Nasdaq Composite was up 56.96 points, or 0.70%, at 8,176.75. Dow Inc gained 2.4% after the company exceeded profit estimates, while electric car maker Tesla Inc surged 16.7% on a surprise quarterly profit.
Other high profile companies including Amazon.com Inc, Intel Corp and Visa Inc are slated to report after markets close on Thursday. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.34-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 28 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 53 new highs and 39 new lows.