US stocks trade mixed as strong Tesla earnings lift Nasdaq while ECB hikes rates for first time in 11 years

• US stocks were mixed Thursday as the European Central Bank raised rates to tackle inflation.
• A busy earnings week continued with Tesla profits beating views and lifting the Nasdaq.

US stocks opened mixed Thursday as strong Tesla earnings sent the Nasdaq higher while markets processed an interest rate hike in Europe.

Late Wednesday, Tesla reported second-quarter results that topped forecasts with the EV maker also revealing it converted 75% of its bitcoin holdings to cash. Meanwhile, earnings season rolled on with United Airlines and American Airlines reporting their first profits since the pandemic.

Elsewhere, the European Central Bank raised its benchmark rates by 50 basis points in its first increase in 11 years. ECB president Cristine Lagarde said the rise would allow the central bank to strengthen "the anchor of inflation expectations."

Here's where major US indexes were trading at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,952.11, down 0.20%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 3,952.11, down 0.46% (143.88 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 11,904.45, up 0.06%

Russia resumed gas flows via its key Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Europe on Thursday, although at reduced flows, sending natural gas prices down and the euro up.

The US housing market is about to enter a "deep freeze," as surging borrowing rates and stubbornly high prices lock out a growing number of buyers, according to Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody's Analytics.

The US may well already be in a recession — but even if that is the case, it should be quite mild, and long-term investors have no need to panic over "fixable" inflation, according to BlackRock's Larry Fink.

Oil prices fell on signs of slowing demand in the US. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4% to $95.88 per barrel, and international benchmark Brent crude dropped 3.5% to $103.11.

Gold ticked down less than 0.1% to $1,701.50 per ounce. The 10-year yield slipped 5 basis points to 2.986%.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell 4% to $22,720.