US stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors balanced strong corporate earnings against rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and persistent inflation concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.64% or 314 points, while the S&P 500 gained roughly 0.22%. Nasdaq 100 advanced around 0.06%. Earnings strength supports market sentiment Investor sentiment found support in a fresh batch of corporate earnings, particularly from large-cap technology and industrial companies. Shares of Alphabet Inc. jumped 6.4% after the company reported a record quarter for its cloud unit. Amazon was up 0.6% after exceeding expectations for cloud sales. Among industrials, Caterpillar gained between 7.4% after posting stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit. Eli Lilly shares rose 6.2% after the drugmaker raised its annual profit...
Dow rises 314 points as earnings offset oil, inflation worries
