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US Stocks, Oil Prices Move Higher Monda05/11 15:22
Oil prices rose Monday as the war with Iran threatens to drag on for longer,
but the U.S. stock market nevertheless inched toward more records.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices rose Monday as the war with Iran threatens to
drag on for longer, but the U.S. stock market nevertheless inched toward more
records.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil climbed 2.9% to settle at $104.21
after President Donald Trump said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was on "life support"
after he rejected Iran's latest proposal to end their war. The rejection raises
the stakes for Trump's trip this week to China, where he could urge President
Xi Jinping to pressure Iran into making concessions. Xi has influence because
China is the biggest buyer of Iran's sanctioned crude oil.
The war has already sent the price for a barrel of Brent up from roughly $70
and delivered a blast of painful inflation through the global economy. That's
because it has shut the Strait of Hormuz and kept oil tankers stuck in the
Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers worldwide.
Still, the U.S. stock market has set a run of records on hopes that the war
will not keep oil prices high for very long. Companies are meanwhile producing
bigger profits than analysts expected, while signals suggest the U.S. economy
is holding up even though households are feeling discouraged by expensive
gasoline and tariffs.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% from its prior all-time high set on
Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 95 points, or 0.2%, and the
Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to reach its own all-time high.
The majority of stocks within the S&P 500 fell, even though the overall
index rose. Among them was Mosaic, which reported much weaker results for the
latest quarter than analysts expected.
The fertilizer company is benefiting from higher prices for its products,
but it's also contending with much higher prices for sulfur and other raw
materials because of logistics snarls created by the war with Iran. Mosaic's
stock fell 1.8%.
Stocks of companies whose customers have the least cushion to absorb higher
gasoline prices also struggled, and Dollar General fell 7.6%. Businesses with
big fuel bills likewise had sharp losses, including drops of 4.3% for Royal
Caribbean and 3.2% for Southwest Airlines.
Helping to offset that was Fox, which climbed 7.6% after reporting stronger
profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
More than four out of every five companies in the S&P 500 that have reported
their results for the latest quarter so far have topped profit expectations,
and they're on track to deliver overall growth of nearly 28%, according to
FactSet. If that turns out to be the case, it would be the best growth since
the end of 2021.
It's not just U.S. companies muscling past analysts' profit expectations.
Globally, companies are on track for their strongest growth in more than four
years, according to Deutsche Bank strategists led by Binky Chadha. The boom in
artificial-intelligence technology has helped corporate profits rise at a
faster rate than overall economies.
Outside of earnings reports, Beazer Homes USA soared 34% after Dream Finders
Homes offered to buy it in a deal valued at roughly $704 million. A combination
would create the country's seventh-largest homebuilder, and Dream Finders is
asking Beazer's shareholders to push its management and board to OK the deal
after making several attempts itself.
Dream Finders rose 5%.
Tech stocks were also strong, continuing their big run amid the AI boom.
Gains of 2% for Nvidia and 6.5% for Micron Technology were the strongest forces
pushing the S&P 500 upward.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 13.91 points to 7,412.84. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 95.31 to 49,704.47, and the Nasdaq composite gained
27.05 to 26,274.13.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. France's
CAC 40 fell 0.7% for one of the world's bigger losses, while South Korea's
Kospi soared 4.3% thanks to gains for Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and other
tech stocks benefiting from AI.
In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher. The 10-year yield rose to
4.40% from 4.38% late Friday.
Yields had moderated a bit this month, but they remain well above where they
were before the war with Iran began. Higher yields can raise rates for
mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses,
which in turn can slow the economy. Higher yields also tend to push downward on
prices for stocks and other kinds of investments.
A report on Monday said the pace of sales for previously occupied U.S. homes
was weaker last month than economists expected.
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