NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are hanging near their records on Wall Street and crude oil prices eased, relieving some worries about inflation. Chip companies were posting outsize gains in the early going Wednesday. Micron Technology rose, a day after vaulting past the $1 trillion valuation mark. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, coming off its latest record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 132 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2%. Brent crude fell about 4%.
European markets were higher, and Asian markets closed mixed overnight. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 2.3%.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Shares were mostly higher in Europe and Asia on Wednesday and oil prices fell after the U.S. stock market rose to more records.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX gained 0.7% to 25,359.59, while the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.5% to 8,215.74. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% to 10,484.65.
The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%.
The boom in artificial intelligence drove heavy buying of computer chipmakers and other technology companies after the latest rally on Wall Street, led by a 19.3% gain for Micron Technology. It was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500 on Tuesday after analysts at UBS led by Timothy Arcuri raised their 12-month price target for the stock to $1,625 from $535. Micron closed at $895.88.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 also initially was lifted by gains for tech-related shares given but closed nearly unchanged at 64,999.41. It topped 66,000 earlier in the day.
Computer chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron's shares rose 2.1% and testing equipment maker Advantest gained 4.1%.
Analysts are forecasting continued strength in demand for computer memory and that has been pushing share prices in South Korea and Taiwan to records this year.
The Kospi in Seoul gained 2.3% to 8,228.70, as Samsung Electronics' shares gained 2.3%.
In Taiwan, the Taiex surged 1.7%.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1% to 25,328.23 and the Shanghai Composite index shed 1.3% to 4,093.73.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.7% to 8,717.70 and in India the Sensex fell 0.1%.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks rose to records as the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% after trading resumed following Monday’s Memorial Day holiday. The Nasdaq composite rallied 1.2% and the Dow industrials dipped 0.2%.
U.S. stocks were catching up with climbs for others around the world the day before, when President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran on ending the war were “proceeding nicely.”
“It looks like geopolitical tensions are no longer bothering investors as much as they did in previous weeks. Iran’s explicit dissatisfaction regarding the progress in talks over its nuclear program — or even US strikes — didn’t reverse hopes that the war will end soon,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote said in a commentary.
Markets have rallied on hopes for a swift end to the war, but the situation remains unclear as fighting has continued in the region.
Oil prices have been at the center of financial markets' action since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February. The ensuing war has closed the Strait of Hormuz and kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers worldwide. That in turn has driven up oil’s price and sent a wave of painful inflation around the world.
U.S. households have been feeling discouraged about the economy because of accelerating inflation, and a report on Tuesday said consumer confidence edged downward in May, though the number was not as bad as economists expected. It followed a report on Friday that said sentiment among U.S. consumers hit its lowest level on record.
Early Wednesday, the price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell $3 to $93.89 a barrel. The price for a barrel of U.S crude oil fell $2.94 to $91.89.
Lower oil prices helped pull yields down in the U.S. bond market, which eased the pressure on Wall Street. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.47% from 4.56% late Friday.
The U.S. dollar rose to 159.33 Japanese yen from 159.30 yen. The euro rose to $1.1644 from $1.1631.
