Tesla, IBM and Meta Platforms helped lead most U.S. stocks higher on Thursday following a rush of profit reports from some of the country’s most influential companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, as four out of every five stocks in the index climbed.

U.S. equity indexes dipped and Treasury yields pushed higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and gave little insight into when further reductions in borrowing costs may take place.

U.S. stocks slipped after the Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady and broke a run of cuts that began in September

Apple beat Wall Street's quarterly profit estimates on Thursday, but iPhone sales and China revenue for the holiday quarter were weak due to stiff Chinese competition and a slow rollout of artificial intelligence features.

Wall Street is mainly focused on Apple's iPhone sales in China and any guidance related to its March quarter, which could include iPhone SE4 sales.

Tesla said it sold 1.79 million vehicles in 2024, the first drop in more than a dozen years despite offers of 0% financing, free charging and low-priced leases