US stocks rise toward the finish of a record-breaking week

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are rising toward the finish of their record-setting week on Friday, even as other financial markets remain indecisive.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and clawed back some of its two straight days of losses since setting its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 242 points, or 0.5%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.

The moves were tentative as oil prices continue to yo-yo because of uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal. The price for a barrel of Brent crude bounced between $102.50 and $105 in the morning, and it was most recently at $104.91, up 0.6%.

Treasury yields flipped up and down in the bond market following their own sharp moves earlier in the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was most recently at 5.26%, up from 5.22% late Thursday.

It recently touched its highest level since 2002 because of worries about high inflation, the U.S. government’s massive debt load, signals that the U.S. economy is continuing to grow and other factors.

High yields threaten to slow the economy by making borrowing money more expensive for everyone, and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has already leaped to its highest level in nearly three years.

Yields are also shooting higher in other bond markets around the world, which make investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks and other investments. But the high yields have attracted investors to recent auctions of Treasurys, and that demand is helping to limit further increases for yields.

On Wall Street, Humana rallied 13% and helped lift the U.S. stock market despite the pressure coming from the oil and bond markets. The insurer said it received encouraging data about its quality ratings versus its competitors for Medicare Advantage plans.

Companies that own cell towers were also at the front of the market, including leaps of 14.8% for Crown Castle and 8.5% for American Tower.

They rallied after SpaceX announced a purchase that could help it become a major mobile carrier in the United States. It still needs to get approval from U.S. regulators, but SpaceX said the purchase of low-band spectrum would allow its Starlink Mobile business to have a signal that can penetrate walls and connect customers inside buildings who may not be able to access its satellites. SpaceX's stock rose 1.6%.

The threat of another big competitor sent stocks lower across the wireless industry, including drops of 12.8% for T-Mobile US, 10% for AT&T and 10.1% for Verizon.

Delta Air Lines lost 1.8% after reporting weaker profit and revenue for the summer than analysts expected. CEO Ed Bastian said demand remains strong and customers want to fly, but the airline is also having to absorb a $6 billion increase in fuel costs this year.

The pressure is on companies broadly to deliver strong growth in profits after their stock prices ran toward records despite the downward push from high bond yields. Next week will bring high-profile profit reports from the country’s biggest banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all on Tuesday.

Expectations are high for corporate profits, even as Americans say they're feeling more squeezed by high inflation. A preliminary report from the University of Michigan said Friday that U.S. consumers are raising their own forecasts for how bad inflation will be over the coming year.

They're expecting inflation of 4.7%, up from their forecast of 4.6% a month ago and just 3.4% in February before the war with Iran began. Sentiment among consumers is falling sharply for Americans with lower incomes and smaller investments in stocks, who can least afford the fast increases in the cost of living.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rallied in Europe with gains of at least 1% in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Asian markets were more mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished nearly unchanged, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.8%.