Markets Right Now: Stocks turn higher in midday trading

The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):

11:45 a.m.

Stocks are moving higher in midday trading on Wall Street, putting the Standard & Poor’s 500 index on track for its first gain in five days.

Technology, industrial stocks and banks rose more than the rest of the market Thursday.

Facebook rose 1.6 per cent, Boeing gained 1.9 per cent and Wells Fargo climbed 1.9 per cent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,638.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 82 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 24,226. The Nasdaq composite added 49 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 6,828.

The S&P 500 has fallen for the last four days.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.33 per cent.

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9:35 a.m.

Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street as gains for technology companies are offset by losses for banks.

Chipmaker Broadcom rose 3.1 per cent in early trading Thursday after reporting a strong quarter. Other tech stocks also rose. Google parent Alphabet rose 1 per cent.

Merck rose 1.2 per cent after the New England Journal of Medicine published positive results from a trial of one of its drugs.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up a point at 2,630.

The Dow Jones industrial average was little changed at 24,140. The Nasdaq composite added 21 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 6,797.