NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rising on Wednesday, led by a rally for Apple.
The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 145 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:03 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher.
Apple alone accounted for nearly half of the S&P 500’s gain. It rose 5.7% ahead of an announcement at the White House where it’s expected to increase its U.S. investments by an additional $100 billion over the next four years.
Trading elsewhere on Wall Street was mixed following a jumble of profit reports. McDonald’s and Shopify rose following their latest updates, while Super Micro Computer tumbled after its earnings and revenue came in below analysts’ expectations. The Walt Disney Co. fell after its earnings beat forecasts but its revenue fell short
Worries are still high that President Donald Trump’s tariffs may be hurting the economy, but hopes for coming cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve and a parade of stronger-than-expected profit reports from U.S. companies have helped steady the market.
Companies are under pressure to deliver bigger profits to justify the big gains their stock prices have made since the U.S. market hit a low point in April. The S&P 500 is just a bit below its record, which was set late last month, and the big rally fueled criticism that the broad market has become too expensive.
McDonald’s climbed 3.4% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. A meal tied to the “Minecraft” movie proved to be a hit for the restaurant chain.
Shopify jumped 19.7% after the company, which helps businesses sell on the internet, said it made more in revenue last quarter than expected. Analysts also said the company’s forecast for revenue in the current quarter suggests the strong trends are continuing.
Arista Networks was one of the stronger forces lifting the S&P 500 and leaped 18% after the networking company delivered a bigger profit for the latest quarter than expected. Its forecast for revenue in the current quarter also topped forecasts.
They helped offset a 19.3% slump for Super Micro Computer, which gave back some of the huge gains the server maker has made recently. Super Micro came into the day with a nearly 88% gain for its stock so far this year, but it reported weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that fell short of what Wall Street had penciled in.
Disney dropped 2.4% after its profit beat forecasts but its revenue fell short. Analysts said investors may have been looking for Disney to boost its profit forecast by a bigger amount.
The NFL also announced that it had entered into a nonbinding agreement with Disney’s ESPN, which will give the sports broadcaster the NFL Network, NFL Fantasy and the rights to distribute the RedZone channel. The NFL will get a 10% stake in ESPN in the proposed deal.
Chip company Advanced Micro Devices fell 6% after its profit for the latest quarter only matched analysts’ expectations. Analysts said the company’s financial forecasts for upcoming results also looked solid, but that may not have been enough for investors after its stock had already soared 44.3% for the year so far coming into the day.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.24% from 4.22% late Tuesday. It’s still well below where it was last week, before Friday’s much weaker-than-expected report on the U.S. job market ignited worries that Trump’s tariffs are pushing employers to hold back on hiring.
That report has traders on Wall Street betting heavily that the Federal Reserve will need to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September. Such cuts can give the economy and investments prices a boost, but they also can push inflation higher.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly across much of Europe and Asia.
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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
The Federal Reserve will almost certainly cut its key interest rate on Wednesday and could signal it expects another cut in December as the central bank seeks to bolster hiring. A cut Wednesday would be the second this year and could benefit consumers by bringing down borrowing costs for mortgages and auto loans. Since Fed chair Jerome Powell strongly signaled in late August that rate cuts were likely this year, the average 30-year mortgage rate has fallen to about 6.2% from 6.6%. Still, the Fed is navigating an unusual period for the U.S. economy and its future moves are harder to anticipate than is typically the case.
Stocks are rallying toward more records ahead of a week packed with potentially market-moving events. The S&P 500 rose 1% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 224 points, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.7%. Stocks also climbed in Asia ahead of a meeting on Thursday between the heads of the United States and China. The hope is that the talks could clear rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies. This upcoming week will feature profit reports from some of Wall Street's most influential companies and a meeting by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Gold fell back toward $4,000 per ounce.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
Some seniors say the Social Security Administration's cost-of-living adjustment won’t help much in their ability to pay for their daily expenses. The agency announced Friday the annual cost-of-living adjustment will go up by 2.8% in 2026, translating to an average increase of more than $56 for retirees every month. Eighty-year-old Florence, South Carolina, resident Linda Deas says it does not match the current "affordability crisis.” The benefits increase will go into effect for Social Security recipients beginning in January. Friday’s announcement was meant to be made last week but was delayed because of the federal government shutdown. Recipients got a 2.5% COLA boost in 2025 and a 3.2% increase in 2024.
Wall Street is heading for records after an update said U.S. households are feeling a bit less pain from inflation than feared. The S&P 500 climbed 1% Friday and was on track to top its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 529 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%. Both are also heading toward records. The inflation data could clear the way for the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates in hopes of helping the slowing job market. A strong earnings reports from Ford Motor and continued gains for AI stars also drove stocks higher.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that a sharp slowdown in hiring poses a growing risk to the U.S. economy.
Three researchers who probed the process of business innovation have won the Nobel memorial prize in economics for explaining how new products and inventions promote economic growth and human welfare, even as they leave older companies in the dust.
U.S. stocks are rising and recovering some of their sell-off from Friday. The S&P 500 climbed 1.6%.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
