Wall Street's major market averages were mixed around midday Thursday as corporate earnings continued to roll in.

US initial jobless claims fell for a sixth straight week to a level of 217,000 in the week ended July 19 from an unrevised 221,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 226,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

In equities, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares added 1.6% around Thursday noon after the company said its Q2 earnings rose to $2.31 per diluted share from $1.89 and revenue climbed to $96.43 billion from $84.74 billion a year earlier.

Shares of Alphabet's "Magnificent 7" peer Tesla (TSLA) fell 9% after the electric vehicle maker posted lower quarterly results and Chief Executive Elon Musk warned in an earnings call that the company is likely to face a "few rough quarters" following the US government's slashing of EV incentives.

Tesla reported Q2 non-GAAP earnings of $0.40 per diluted share, down from $0.52 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $0.40. Revenue for the quarter was $22.50 billion, down from $25.50 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $22.28 billion.

Union Pacific (UNP) reported Q2 earnings Thursday of $3.15 per diluted share, up from $2.74 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $2.91. Operating revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was $6.15 billion, compared with $6.01 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $6.16 billion.

Also on Thursday, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern (NSC) said they are in "advanced" talks about a potential merger, though no agreement has been reached. The two rail operators said they will not provide further updates unless a disclosure becomes necessary.

Shares of Union Pacific were down 2.4%, while Norfolk shares were 0.1% higher.

T-Mobile US (TMUS) shares added 6% after the company said its fiscal Q2 net income rose to $2.84 per diluted share from $2.49 and revenue climbed to $21.13 billion from $19.77 billion a year earlier.

Blackstone (BX) shares advanced 4.5% after the company said its Q2 distributable earnings climbed to $1.21 per share from $0.96 and revenue rose to $3.71 billion from $2.80 billion a year ago, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares slid 3.6% after the company said it has started complying with formal criminal and civil requests from the US Department of Justice concerning the company's participation in the Medicare program.

Price: 183.94, Change: +0.17, Percent Change: +0.09