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NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is ticking toward records Tuesday as it catches up with climbs for others around the world from the day before, when President Donald Trump said negotiations were “proceeding nicely” with Iran on ending their war.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% after trading resumed following Monday’s holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 156 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:26 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher. The indexes are at or near all-time highs.
The indexes pared gains from earlier in the morning as fighting continued in the region, and the U.S. military said it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines. Markets have rallied in the past on hopes for a coming end to the war with Iran, only to see the conflict drag on.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.4% to $96.63, but that reclaimed only some of its 7.1% plunge from Monday. The price for a barrel of U.S crude oil, meanwhile, fell 2.8% to settle at $93.89.
Oil prices have been at the center of the action for financial markets since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February. The ensuing war has closed the Strait of Hormuz to most oil tankers, keeping crude pent up in the Persian Gulf instead of flowing to customers worldwide. That in turn has driven up oil’s price and sent a wave of painful inflation around the world.
Hopes for a deal to improve the flow of oil helped lift stocks of companies with big fuel bills. United Airlines rose 5.6%, and cruise operator Carnival steamed 3.2% higher.
The lower oil prices also helped pull yields down in the U.S. bond market, which eased the pressure on Wall Street. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.50% from 4.56% late Friday.
It’s a respite following recent gains for yields in bond markets worldwide, which threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.
Big technology stocks also continued their big runs. Micron Technology leaped 20.9% to top $900 and was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500 after analysts at UBS led by Timothy Arcuri raised their 12-month price target for the stock to $1,625 from $535. They’re forecasting continued strength in demand for computer memory, and Micron’s stock has already tripled so far this year.
