The S&P 500 rose slightly Thursday as Wall Street tried to claw back this week's losses. However, gains were kept in check by weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 187.27 points midday to 38,611.54.
The much-broader index took on 8.87 points to 5,009.39.
The NASDAQ index lost 35.59 points to 15,823.56.
Earnings season continued to paint a muddled picture of corporate America. Tripadvisor jumped 5% after beating estimates on the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, Cisco shares were down more than 1% after the tech company announced layoffs and weak forward sales projections.
Deere stock dropped 5% after the agricultural machinery manufacturer lowered guidance for its full-year net income guidance. Shares of Alphabet slid nearly 3%.
Investors received another update about the state of the U.S. economy on Thursday, with January retail sales plunging 0.8%, much more than the 0.3% decline economists polled by Dow Jones had expected. This raised some concern about the strength of the U.S. consumer under the weight of sticky inflation and high interest rates, and sent Treasury yields down.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury surged, lowering yields to 4.24% from Wednesday's 4.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices climbed $1.70 to $78.34 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $7.50 to $2,011.80.