Wall Street drifts as earnings roll in, natural gas soars

By STAN CHOE
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting in mixed trading Monday, as worries about rising interest rates and high inflation keep a lid on Wall Street despite some better-than-expected profit reports from banks. The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower in afternoon trading, while the Dow and Nasdaq likewise flipped between small gains and losses through the day. Stocks have struggled this year as the highest inflation in generations forces the Federal Reserve into a U-turn on the low-interest-rate policies that helped markets soar and the economy to rev in recent years. The price of U.S. natural gas jumped more than 9% and is close to its highest since 2008.