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NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are mostly drifting higher Thursday, while yields climbed after a Federal Reserve official cautioned the end to its interest-rate hikes may not arrive as soon as Wall Street hoped.
The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in late trading, adding to its rally from a day earlier as momentum seems to build for the U.S. government to avert a disastrous default on its debt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 32 points, or 0.1%, to 33,388 with less than an hour left in trading, while the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.
Helping to support Wall Street was Walmart, which rose 1.1% after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than expected. It also raised its financial forecast for the full year, though it said it's seeing shoppers remain cautious about spending.
Bath & Body Works, another retailer, leaped 9.4% after reporting stronger revenue and earnings for the latest quarter.
Much scrutiny has been on the retail industry because strong spending by U.S. households has been one of the main pillars keeping the slowing economy out of a recession.
Video game maker Take-Two Interactive jumped 12.7% after it forecast a huge jump in revenue for fiscal 2025, stoking speculation that Grand Theft Auto VI is on the way.
Stocks have remained remarkably resilient since early April despite a long list of worries. A major reason for that is hope the Fed would take it easier on its hikes to rates, which have slowed inflation at the expense of risking a recession and knocking down prices across financial markets.
The widespread bet was that the Fed would take a pause at its next meeting in June. But Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan cooled some of those hopes in a prepared speech for the Texas Bankers Association.
"The data in coming weeks could yet show that it is appropriate to skip a meeting," Logan said. "As of today, though, we aren't there yet."
Treasury yields climbed as traders increased bets that the Fed would raise rates again at its June meeting, though the majority are still forecasting a pause.