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Indexes up: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.38%, Nasdaq 0.67%

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Tesla falls after Q3 profit misses estimates

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IBM ( IBM ) slumps on recording cloud software slowdown

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Quantum computing firms gain on report of US govt stake

talks

(Updates with analyst comments, early afternoon prices)

By Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose marginally higher on

Thursday, as underwhelming earnings from Tesla and IBM ( IBM ), as well

as simmering U.S.-China trade tensions, kept risk appetite on a

tight leash.

Tesla, which kicked off the 'Magnificent Seven' earnings

parade, missed third-quarter profit estimates, dragging its

shares down as much as 5%, with its revenue beat offering little

comfort.

But as Tesla slipped, the rest of the tech titans stepped up

- with bargain hunters scooping up megacap names.

The 'Magnificent Seven' cohort, which makes up nearly 35% of

the S&P 500's weight, saw modest gains. Nvidia ( NVDA ),

Alphabet, Amazon ( AMZN ) and Meta climbed

about 1%, while Broadcom ( AVGO ) rose 1.4%

At 11:31 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

70.69 points, or 0.15%, to 46,661.10, the S&P 500 gained

25.17 points, or 0.38%, to 6,724.57 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 152.12 points, or 0.67%, to 22,892.52.

Honeywell ( HON ) rose 7% after the industrial giant raised

its 2025 profit forecast despite the looming spin-off of its

advanced materials unit. The gain kept the Dow afloat. But IBM ( IBM )

weighed on the index, sliding 2.5% due to a slowdown in

its key cloud software segment.

Amid a whirlwind of earnings, profit-taking, and escalating

trade tensions, Wall Street's gains have been more measured and

cautious.

While most companies have topped analyst estimates, cautious

outlooks have kept equities locked in a tight range, as

investors seek fresh justification for sky-high valuations.

"Earnings data this quarter to this point has probably been

even a little bit more valuable than it might be in other

quarters, simply because of the lack of other data on the state

of the U.S. economy," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer

at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

Quantum computing firms were a bright spot after the Wall

Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump's

administration was in talks with several of them to take equity

stakes in exchange for federal funding.

IonQ ( IONQ ) and D-Wave Quantum ( QBTS ) gained 12% and

18%, respectively, while Rigetti Computing ( RGTI ) added 13%.

Energy stocks added 1.4% following a jump in crude

prices on fresh U.S. sanctions against Russia. Chevron ( CVX ),

Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and Halliburton ( HAL ) rose between 1% and

2%.

Health insurer Molina Healthcare ( MOH ) plunged 21.4% after

slashing its annual profit forecast. Peer Centene ( CNC ) fell

6.9%.

DATA DROUGHT DRAGS ON

With the U.S. government shutdown stretching into its 23rd day,

key economic data - including Thursday's weekly jobless claims -

remain frozen, leaving investors flying blind.

That's put Friday's core CPI print - expected to hold steady

at 3.1% - in the spotlight as the Federal Reserve's clearest

inflation signal ahead of next week's policy meeting.

Markets have priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut, with

traders betting the Fed will ease again in December.

Meanwhile, a Reuters report said the Trump administration

was weighing sweeping curbs on high-tech exports to China in

retaliation for Beijing's latest restrictions on rare-earth

shipments. The report injected fresh uncertainty into the

markets.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.48-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.53-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and four new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 62 new

lows.

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru;

Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shinjini Ganguli)