While inflation and central-bank reactions to the spike in rising prices are big drivers of markets right now, earnings have been important this week too, especially after Netflix’s selloff, Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank, noted.

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“On the flip-side, we get Tesla this morning, and it’s rallying back up on their profits,” said Gaffney. “American Airlines released -- so travel and leisure, even with higher gas prices, they’ve been able to raise their ticket prices. So far, it looks like consumers are shrugging off the price increases, but everybody is complaining about it. We’ll see how long that lasts.”

While it’s early in the US earnings-reporting season, the signs are encouraging so far. Of the 87 S&P 500 companies that have posted results, about 80 per cent have beaten market estimates, according to Bloomberg data.

US jobless claims eased last week to a level that’s consistent with an exceptionally tight labour market, Labor Department data showed overnight. Initial unemployment claims decreased by 2,000 to 184,000 in the week ended April 16, while continuing claims for state benefits dropped to 1.42 million in the week ended April 9, the lowest since 1970.