Inventories increase slightly at the beginning of transactions, led by airlines and technicians

NEW YORK – Stocks rise slightly early on Thursday, as investors react to the latest fourth-quarter financial results released by US companies. American Airlines rallies after exceeding badysts' expectations, while spice maker McCormick is sinking. Technology companies are climbing.

The European Central Bank has confirmed its intention to leave interest rates unchanged until this summer at the earliest and its support for the European economy has remained unchanged despite various concerns, including trade tensions, slowing economic growth and the effects of the European Union.

KEEPING THE SCORE: The S & P 500 index rose 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,643 hours at 10:25 am ET. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 13 points, or 0.1%, to reach 24,587. The Nasdaq composite climbed 45 points, or 0.6%, to 7,071.

TURBULENCE WARNING: Airlines grew 5.7% to $ 33.45 after posting solid results in the last quarter, and Southwest rose 4.7% to $ 53.43. JetBlue jumped 3.2% to $ 17.79. Some carriers warned that the partial closure of the federal government would cost them money in January. Southwest said the shutdown could cost up to $ 15 million, echoing Delta's warning earlier this month that the company would cost $ 25 million in revenue.

SOUR TASTE: McCormick fell 10.6% to $ 124.21 after a quarterly profit and a turnover below expectations on Wall Street.

TECH: Xilinx chip maker jumped 17.5 percent to $ 105.24 after its third-quarter results exceeded expectations. The cloud computing company Citrix Systems fell 7% to 101.10 USD after its forecasts for the current quarter have disappointed investors.

BCE WATCH: The European Central Bank has not changed its interest rates or its forecasts as to when it could start to increase them. Mario Draghi, director of the European Central Bank, said the risks for the European economy were increasing and that the bank was ready to "adjust all its instruments" if it ran into serious problems.

BONDS: Bond prices have risen slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell from 2.75% to 2.72%.

ENERGY: US crude oil rose 0.3% to $ 52.78 a barrel in New York. Brent, used for the price of oil on the international market, fell by 0.2% to 61.03 dollars per barrel in London.

ABROAD: the German DAX plunged 0.1% and the French CAC 40 0.2%. The FTSE 100 in Britain slipped 0.1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.4% and Japan's Nikkei 225, 0.1%.

Marley Jay, the badociated press