Wall Street’s rally stalls amid discouraging rise in layoffs

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are stalling on Wall Street Thursday, undercut by a discouraging report showing that layoffs are picking up across the country with coronavirus counts. The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in midday trading, easing off a rally that had sent it higher for four straight days. The Dow and Nasdaq were also down modestly, but most stocks in the S&P 500 were higher, led by several that reported stronger profits for the spring than Wall Street expected. Other stock indexes ar