Wall Street Drifts in Mixed Trade Thurs04/18 09:56

   U.S. stock indexes are drifting in a relatively quiet morning of mixed 
trading Thursday.

   (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes are drifting in a relatively quiet morning of 
mixed trading Thursday.

   The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower, coming off its fourth straight loss. Another 
drop would send it to its longest losing streak since late October, when its 
big run to records began.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 117 points, as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern 
time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower.

   Elevance Health climbed 4.2% after the insurer raised its profit forecast 
for the full year. Homebuilder D.R. Horton rose 3.5% after reporting stronger 
profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

   They helped offset an 8.2% drop for Equifax, which reported weaker revenue 
for the latest quarter than expected. High interest rates are pressuring its 
mortgage credit inquiry business.

   Stocks broadly have been struggling recently as yields in the bond market 
charge higher. They're cranking up the pressure because investors have given up 
on hopes that the Federal Reserve will deliver many cuts to interest rates this 
year.

   Yields edged a bit higher after a couple more reports on Thursday showed the 
U.S. economy remains stronger than expected.

   One report said fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week 
than economists expected. It's the latest sign that the job market remains 
remarkably solid despite high interest rates.

   Another report said growth in manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region 
accelerated sharply, when economists were expecting a contraction.

   Similar such data, along with a string of reports showing inflation has 
remained hotter than forecast this year, pushed top Fed officials to say 
recently they could hold interest rates high for a while.

   It's a letdown after the Fed earlier had signaled three cuts to interest 
rates could be possible this year.

   But Fed officials have been adamant they want to be sure inflation is 
heading down toward their 2% target before lowering the Fed's main interest 
rate from its highest level since 2001. Lower rates would juice the economy and 
financial markets, but they could also allow give inflation fuel to 
reaccelerate.

   Traders are now forecasting just one or two cuts to rates this year, 
according to data from CME Group, down from expectations for six or more at the 
start of the year.

   In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.62% from 
4.59% late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely 
with expectations for Fed action, rose to 4.97% from 4.94%.

   The hoped-for upside on Wall Street of a strong economy that's keeping 
interest rates high is that it could also drive strong growth in profits. 
Companies will need to deliver such strength in order to justify the run stock 
prices have been on since autumn, setting records along the way.

   Comerica rose 2.7% after analysts said the bank gave forecasts for 2024 
profit trends that were better than feared.

   Alaska Air, the carrier that suffered a midflight blowout of a door plug on 
a Boeing aircraft in January, took a $162 million hit in its most recent 
quarter after it grounded its entire Boeing 737 Max fleet, but it projected 
better-than-expected profits the current quarter. Its stock rose 1.9%

   Las Vegas Sands dropped 6.9% even though it reported better results than 
expected. Analysts said investors may be worried about competition the company 
is facing in Macau.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes were moving only modestly across much of 
Europe after rising in Asia. South Korea's Kospi jumped 2% to help lead the 
region.