Wall Street ticks higher after SpaceX jumps and AI stocks steady

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is drifting higher on Wednesday as strong profit reports from SpaceX, Capital One Financial and other big companies help offset updates from Netflix and AT&T that investors found disappointing.The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and is on track for a third straight modest gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 40 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.SpaceX helped lead the market and climbed 9.2% after reporting a stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected. Elon Musk, who runs the company that makes money from artificial-intelligence technology, rockets and other businesses, also said that SpaceX took a step to consider a possible merger with Tesla, his electric-vehicle company.Tesla, which will report its latest quarterly results late Wednesday, climbed 2.6% and was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.Other stocks rallying on profit reports that topped analysts’ expectations inclu