FILE – In this Jan. 13, 2021 file photo, people walk by the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as traders welcome some strong reports on the economy including a drop in jobless claims and a big increase in retail spending, as well as more robust earnings from big companies including Citigroup and United Healthcare
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 16, 2021. Asian shares were mixed Friday as jubilance over positive U.S. economic data and a Wall Street record high were tempered by caution in the region, where the coronavirus vaccine rollout has lagged.
A currency trader gestures at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 16, 2021. Asian shares were mixed Friday as jubilance over positive U.S. economic data and a Wall Street record high were tempered by caution in the region, where the coronavirus vaccine rollout has lagged.
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 16, 2021. Asian shares were mixed Friday as jubilance over positive U.S. economic data and a Wall Street record high were tempered by caution in the region, where the coronavirus vaccine rollout has lagged.
A currency trader talks with his colleague at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 16, 2021. Asian shares were mixed Friday as jubilance over positive U.S. economic data and a Wall Street record high were tempered by caution in the region, where the coronavirus vaccine rollout has lagged.
FILE – Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in New York. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street, keeping the S&P 500 on track for its fourth weekly gain in a row. The benchmark index was up 0.3% in the early going Friday, April 16, led by gains in banks, industrial and health care companies.
Major indexes are mostly higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday as a tick up in bond yields helped lift bank stocks.
The broad gains in the market were tempered by technology stocks falling, which has typically happened when bond yields move higher. Crude oil prices also slipped and weighed down energy companies.
The S&P 500 was up 0.2% as of 12:54 p.m. Eastern, on track for its fourth weekly gain in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 84 points, or 0.3% to 34,120 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.1%.
Bond yields were moving higher after falling earlier in the week. The yield of the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.57% from 1.53% late Thursday. However bond yields are down from the highs they hit earlier in the month, when the 10-year note traded at a yield of 1.75%.
“There’s sort of a churning with regard to interest rates and in the market itself,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments.
The market has seen both high-flying technology stocks and sectors beaten down by the pandemic taking turns leading the way higher over the last few months. That choppiness will likely continue as investors reevaluate their portfolios, Martin said.
Technology stocks were modestly lower. Apple fell 0.5% and Facebook was down 0.8%.
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