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More gains for makers of computer chips and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom carried Wall Street higher Tuesday. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 385 points (0.7%) and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%. The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, and Brent crude oil briefly got near $92 per barrel for the first time in more than five weeks because of continued attacks between the United States and Iran. It later pared its gain to 2% and settled at $91.01. That's up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran. Rising oil prices are threatening a re-acceleration of inflation, just as increases for prices were slowing more than economists expected that in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments. On Wall Street, several stronger profit reports from big U.S. companies helped stocks to strengthen despite the added pressure. 3M climbed 7.3% after topping analysts' expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter. It also raised its forecast for profit over the full year of 2026. Hasbro rallied 8.8% after the toy maker said its Magic: The Gathering game topped $500 million in revenue for a quarter for the first time. It also raised its revenue forecast for the year. Micron Technology jumped 12.2% and Nvidia added 2% and they were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. General Motors cruised 4.9% higher after the automaker's profit and revenue for the latest quarter beat analysts' expectations and CEO Mary Barra said demand in North America remains strong. Companies broadly are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profit and revenue because of how high their stock prices have shot. Indexes are near their records, even with the recent shakiness for AI stocks. In Asia, stocks swung more. South Korea's Kospi jumped 3.6% on strong gains for its two dominant stocks. Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been big beneficiaries of the AI boom, and the Kospi has soared 60% so far this year even with its 20% drop through July. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 climbed 3.3% after returning from Monday's holiday, while indexes rose 1.8% in Shanghai and edged down by less than 0.1% in Hong Kong. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.63% from 4.60% late Monday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began. Homebuilder D.R. Horton slipped 0.9% despite topping profit and revenue expectations for the latest quarter. Powered by Capital Market - Live News
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