Dow gains 900 points as oil prices ease, while AI stocks keep Wall Street in check
Most U.S. stocks are rising Thursday as oil prices ease, but slumps for influential artificial-intelligence winners are keeping Wall Street in check. The S&P 500 added 0.3% a day after dropping from its all-time high and coming just short of its longest winning streak in three decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 925 points, or 1.8%, as of 12:34 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower. A clear majority of stocks on Wall Street climbed, including 3 out of every 4 in the S&P 500. They got a boost from a 2.8% drop for the price of Brent crude oil to $95.10 per barrel. That gave back a chunk of its rise this week caused by the latest flare-ups of fighting between Iran and the United States and its allies. The expectation on Wall Street seems to be that the United States and Iran will ultimately agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. That would hopefully improve the flow of crude, lower oil’s price and remove some of the upward pressure on inflation that’s hurting the world. Such hopes, along with strong profit reports from U.S. companies, helped launch the S&P 500 on a nine-day winning streak that ended Wednesday. Elanco Animal Health rose 2%, and Zoetis, which sells animal vaccines, climbed 3.8% on expectations for stronger profits after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed Wednesday that the New World screwworm fly has reached south Texas. It’s the first time in decades that the parasite with flesh-eating larvae has threatened the nation’s cattle industry. Toro added 2.1% after the seller of mowers and other equipment became the latest U.S. company to deliver better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Richard Olson said Toro saw strong demand across its products, and the company raised its forecasts for revenue and profit over its full fiscal year. Several other companies also joined the long list of those topping analysts’ profit expectations, but many nevertheles