Stan Choe
US stocks are hanging near their records as oil prices fall and ease the pressure on households and businesses worldwide.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent above its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones was up 196 points, or 0.4 per cent and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1 per cent higher. The Australian sharemarket is set to decline, with futures at 4.57am AEST pointing to a fall of 43 points, or 0.5 per cent, at the open. The ASX added 0.7 per cent on Wednesday. The Australian dollar was trading at US71.42¢.
Stocks of companies with big fuel bills helped lead the way on hopes that lower oil prices will remove a big drag on their profits. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings climbed 5.4 per cent, and United Airlines rallied 5.8 per cent. Delta Air Lines rose 2.7 per cent and is on track to set an all-time high.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 5.3 per cent to $US94.28 after the ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to hold despite the US military launching what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. A barrel of benchmark US crude fell 5.5 per cent to settle at $US88.68 on hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf for deliveries again.
Stocks have been able to run to records despite the painful inflation and uncertainty caused by high oil prices largely because companies have reported surprisingly strong profits for the start of 2026, and the forecast is for them to continue.
Bath & Body Works rallied 10.1 per cent, and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 13 per cent after both reported bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That’s even as US consumers continue to say they’re feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation.
Lululemon Athletica rose 3.3 per cent after reaching a deal with its founder, Chip Wilson, where it will add a former chief marketing officer of ESPN and a former co-CEO of On to its board of directors.
On the losing side of Wall Street was Dick’s Sporting Goods, which dropped 4.3 per cent despite delivering a profit for the latest quarter that edged past expectations. Analysts pointed to how much profit it wrung out of each $US1 in revenue, which some called a bit weak.
Oil-and-gas stocks also sank, hurt by the dropping prices for crude. Exxon Mobil fell 1.2 per cent, and Chevron slipped 1.1 per cent. Halliburton dropped 3.1 per cent to bring its gain for the year so far back toward 40 per cent.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after falling oil prices took pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.48 per cent from 4.50 per cent late Tuesday and from 4.67 per cent roughly a week ago.
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 US mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centres that have supported the US economy’s growth recently.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. South Korea’s Kospi was one of the world’s best performers and jumped 2.3 per cent after SK Hynix, which is a big beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence boom, soared 9.3 per cent.
A day before, Micron Technology surged to become the latest Big Tech company to be worth more than $US1 trillion on AI excitement. Its stock has more than tripled already in 2026, and analysts at UBS said Tuesday it could soar even more because of how fundamentally AI has improved demand for computer memory.
AP
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