Tesla Inc's eye-popping profit margin has raised doubts among Wall Street analysts if the company would be able to keep at it amid rising commodity costs and higher expenses to increase production.

(Reuters) -AutoNation Inc and other brick-and-mortar auto dealerships in the United States turned shortages of new and used vehicles to profitable advantage in the first quarter, but investors sold the No. 1 U.S. auto retailer's shares Thursday despite stronger than expected results.

By Saikat Chatterjee, Julien Ponthus and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

The Nasdaq led Wall Street's main indexes higher on Thursday, lifted by a surge in Tesla shares, with airline stocks providing added boost after United Airlines and American Airlines forecast a return to profitability in the current quarter.

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. stocks surged higher Thursday, buoyed by strong corporate earnings and new jobless data, while bond markets continued to sell off as investors bet on aggressive global interest rate hikes.

(Reuters) -A surge in Tesla shares was set to lift U.S. equity indexes at the open on Thursday, with airline stocks providing added boost after United Airlines and American Airlines forecast a return to profitability in the current quarter.