NEW YORK — (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records Friday following encouraging profit updates from some of the country's biggest banks, though a slide for Tesla is keeping the market in check.
The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in early trading, a day after edging back from its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 199 points, or 0.5%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% lower.
Wells Fargo rose 5.7% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It benefited from better results from its venture-capital investments and higher fees for investment banking services, among other things.
Banks and other financial giants traditionally kick off each earnings reporting season, and JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock and Bank of New York Mellon all rose after delivering results that topped analysts' forecasts.
They helped offset the drag of Tesla, which tumbled 8.8% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market. The electric-vehicle maker unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi on Thursday night, but critics highlighted a lack of details about its planned rollout.
CEO Elon Musk estimated the “Cybercab” would become available in 2026, then added “before 2027.” Critics also pointed to how Tesla did not give any update on a lower-cost model that’s also highly anticipated.
Another automaker, Stellantis, saw its European-traded shares sink 4.6% after it announced some significant leadership changes, including the timing of CEO Carlos Tavares' retirement. Its chief financial officer is also departing as the company formed by the merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler struggles to revive sales in North America.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were mixed after the latest update on inflation at the wholesale level. Prices paid by producers were 1.8% higher in September than a year earlier. That was an improvement from August's year-over-year inflation level, but not as much as economists expected.
Still, analysts said it likely helped calm some worries stirred a day earlier, when a separate report showed inflation at the consumer level wasn’t cooling as quickly as economists expected.
After Friday’s report, traders were largely holding onto their bets that the Federal Reserve would cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point at its next meeting in November, according to data from CME Group.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.09% from 4.07% late Thursday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed’s upcoming moves, edged down to 3.95% from 3.96%.
In markets abroad, stocks fell 2.5% in Shanghai for their latest sharp swing ahead of a briefing scheduled for Saturday by China’s Finance Ministry. Investors hope it will unveil a big stimulus plan for the world's second-largest economy.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.