Wall Street is mostly higher and airlines surge on a stronger outlook from Delta

U.S. stock indexes were mostly higher in midday trading Thursday as Wall Street sized up quarterly results from several companies including Delta Air Lines, which led a rally in airline stocks after releasing a solid outlook for the rest of this year.

The S&P 500 was up 0.2%. The benchmark index remains near the record it set last week after a better-than-expected June jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 231 points, or 0.5%, as of 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down by less than 0.1% a day after climbing to an all-time high.

Delta surged 11.4%, bringing other airlines along with it, after beating Wall Street's revenue and profit targets. The Atlanta airline also gave a more optimistic view for the remaining summer travel season than it had just a couple months ago.

Delta and other major U.S. carriers had pulled or slashed their forecasts in the spring, citing macroeconomic uncertainty amid President Donald Trump's tariff rollouts, which have consumers feeling uneasy about spending on travel.

Delta's encouraging report boosted the entire airline sector. United jumped 14.5%, American climbed 12.8% and JetBlue gained 9.9%.

Most of the sectors in the S&P 500 were up, with banks and consumer-focused companies accounting for much of the gains. JPMorgan rose 1.5% and McDonald's was 1.9% higher.

Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market. Autodesk fell 8.1%.

Shares of WK Kellogg vaulted 30.5% after Italian candy maker Ferrero agreed to acquire the cereal company in a deal valued at roughly $3.1 billion. The transaction includes the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of WK Kellogg Co.'s portfolio of breakfast cereals across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits, a proxy for layoffs, fell last week, remaining in the historically healthy range they've been in the past couple of years.

It's been a choppy week for the stock market as Wall Street monitors the latest developments in President Donald Trump's renewed push to use threats of higher tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes of securing new trade agreements with countries around the globe.

Wednesday was initially set as a deadline by Trump for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has been extended to Aug. 1.

Shares in mining company Freeport-McMoRan rose 3.3% after Trump said a 50% tariff on copper imports would take effect on Aug. 1. The price of copper was up 2.3% to $5.61 per pound.

Wall Street analysts predict that companies in the S&P 500 will deliver 5% growth in second-quarter earnings, according to FactSet. That would mark the lowest rate since the fourth quarter of 2023.

Conagra Brands fell 2.8% Thursday after the maker of Slim Jim, Swiss Miss and other food products reported earnings and revenue that fell short of Wall Street's estimates. The company also lowered its earnings outlook, saying it expects continued cost increases due to tariffs.

Helen of Troy, the company behind Hydro Flask water bottles and OXO kitchen tools, sank 21.6% after its latest quarterly results came in below Wall Street's forecasts. The company said it would not be providing a fiscal year 2026 outlook, citing uncertainty over tariff policy and the economy.

Shares in AZZ jumped 8.3% after the electrical equipment maker's latest quarterly earnings topped analysts' forecasts.

The corporate earnings season gets into high gear next week with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup among the big banks due to report their results on Tuesday.

Bond yields were mostly higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.37%, up from 4.34% late Wednesday.

European stock indexes were mixed Thursday following an uneven finish in Asian markets.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.4%, weighed down by selling of exporters' shares amid the yen's appreciation, which cuts profits from exports, and dampened sentiment because of the lack of progress in the Japan-U.S. trade talks.