U.S. stock indexes climbed modestly on Friday, with the Dow enjoying a bump from enthusiasm about a breakup of blue-chip component Johnson & Johnson JNJ, +1.01%.
How are stock benchmarks trading? On Thursday, the Dow fell 159 points, or 0.44%, to 35921, after disappointing results from Walt Disney Co. DIS, -0.98%, but the S&P 500 increased 3 points, or 0.06%, to 4649, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 82 points, or 0.52%, to 15704. The Bank for International Settlements predicted this week that bottlenecks should ease and that the direct inflationary effect will likely be limited. That tracks the view of the bond market, where long dated Treasury yields largely remain contained within the ranges of the past few weeks, despite considerable volatility, even though inflation has surged to the highest level in 31 years.