Apple and other big U.S. companies reporting fatter profits than expected are helping stock indexes shave off more of their sharp losses from the start of the week.

U.S. stocks slipped after the Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady and broke a run of cuts that began in September. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Wednesday. The

Meta Platforms and most other U.S. stocks are rising Thursday following a rush of profit reports from some of the country’s most influential companies, but drops for Nvidia and Microsoft are keeping the market in check.

Meta Platforms, Tesla and most other U.S. stocks are rising Thursday following a rush of profit reports from some of the country’s most influential companies.