NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady on Wednesday, while the price of oil claws back some of this year’s sharp slide.
The S&P 500 added 0.1% in early trading, coming off its third straight drop, though it remains near its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 162 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was nearly unchanged.
Companies in the oil business helped lead the way after President
Donald Trump ordered a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela. It’s Trump’s latest acceleration in pressure on the leaders of Venezuela, which may be sitting on more oil than any other country.
It sent the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude higher by 1.4% to $55.92, just a day after it had sunk to its lowest level since 2021. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 1.4% to $59.76 per barrel.
ConocoPhillips rose 1.6% to cut into its loss for the year so far, which came into the day at 8.5%. Other gainers included Devon Energy, which rose 2.8%, and Halliburton, which added 1.1%. Oil prices fell through much of this year on expectations that companies are pumping more than enough crude to meet the world’s demand.
Netflix was another winner and rose 2.4% after Warner Bros. Discovery’s board said it still recommends shareholders approve a buyout offer for its Warner Bros. business from the streaming giant, rather than a competing hostile bid from Paramount Skydance for the entire company.
Warner Bros. Discovery slipped 1.1%, while Paramount Skydance fell 4.4%.
Also on the losing end of Wall Street was Lennar, which sank 3.2% following a mixed profit report. The homebuilder delivered a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its revenue topped expectations.
Executive Chairman Stuart Miller also said that conditions remain challenging for the industry, with customers feeling less confident while looking for discounts and more affordable options. As a result, the company gave limited forecasts for its upcoming financial performance.
Several steel makers were also under pressure after giving profit forecasts for the end of 2025 that fell below analysts’ expectations.
Nucor slipped 1.6% after the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said it expects earnings to fall across all three of its operating units from summertime levels. Steel Dynamics of Fort Wayne, Indiana, fell 0.9% after saying it’s selling steel at lower prices than during the summer, among other factors.
In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher ahead of a report coming on Thursday that will show how bad inflation has been for U.S. consumers.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.16% from 4.15% late Tuesday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia.
South Korea’s Kospi leaped 1.4% for one of the world’s bigger gains to shave its loss for the week so far down to 2.7%.
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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
