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Tesla jumps after strong sales forecast

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UPS advances following quarterly profit beat

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Boeing ( BA ) down after workers reject latest contract

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Weekly jobless claims lower than forecasts

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal, Purvi Agarwal, Carolina Mandl

Oct 24 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 gained on

Thursday, driven by Tesla's positive earnings forecast and a

decline in Treasury yields from a three-month high, which buoyed

market sentiment despite declines from some corporate results.

Shares of Tesla soared, with the EV-maker set to add more than

$140 billion to its market capitalization, after it reported

robust third-quarter profits and surprised investors with a

prediction of 20% to 30% sales growth next year.

This helped take the Consumer Discretionary sector

higher.

"It was a blowout from the perspective of Tesla," said

Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz

Investment Management.

The benchmark S&P posted its first daily gain this week.

However, sentiment was somewhat shaky. Most of the S&P sectors

were in the red, as other earnings reports and pressure from

lower, but still high Treasury yields weighed.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note

eased on the day, at 4.20%, after reaching a three-month high

the day before. It went as high as 4.26% in Wednesday's session,

which saw all three major equity indexes lose ground.

"In the near term, the greatest influence we've seen in stocks

in October has been the move higher in rates. From a 10-year

Treasury below 4% to where we stand now has been relatively

quickly," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S.

Bank Wealth Management.

Earnings announced before the bell include IBM ( IBM ),

which lost after missing third-quarter revenue estimates, while

Honeywell ( HON ) declined after it forecast annual sales below

estimates, with both weighing on the blue-chip Dow.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 11.84 points, or 0.20%, to end at 5,809.26 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 135.93 points, or

0.76%, to 18,415.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 145.56 points, or 0.34%, to 42,369.39.

Materials dropped, dragged down by Newmont ( NEM ) as

higher costs and weaker Nevada output saw it miss profit

estimates.

Boeing ( BA ) also lost after factory workers voted on Wednesday

to reject a contract offer and continue a more than

five-week-long strike.

Stocks have eased from record levels over the past few

sessions due to a reassessment of bets on the Federal Reserve's

rate cuts, rising Treasury yields, corporate earnings and

uncertainty surrounding the upcoming U.S. election.

The pullback, however, was to be expected, Dennis Dick,

trader at Triple D Trading said. "The story is still in tech,

and that story is not going away, I would still say dips in tech

need to be bought."

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) lost after earnings and after the

company reached an agreement with activist investor Elliott

Investment Management.

On a brighter note, UPS added after the parcel service

provider reported a rise in third-quarter profit, on rebounding

volumes and cost cuts.

Of the 159 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported

results this earnings season, 78.6% have beaten analyst

expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG.

On the economic front, S&P Global's flash PMI data showed U.S.

business activity increased in October, amid strong demand.

Weekly jobless claims also fell unexpectedly for the week ended

Oct. 19.