NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are trimming their losses from a rocky June on Tuesday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, though it's still heading for its first losing month following two fabulous ones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 82 points, or 0.2%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher.
The main reason for this month’s weakness has been a fall to Earth for stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry. After soaring
to tremendous heights in the frenzy around AI, such stocks have come under pressure because of worries that they shot too high. That’s a big deal for all investors because AI stocks have grown into some of Wall Street’s largest and most influential, pulling indexes behind them.
AI stocks were stronger Tuesday, with Nvidia rising 1.6%. It was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. So was Advanced Micro Device's jump of 6.2%.
Outside of AI, the economy seems to be rumbling along, even though U.S. households are still feeling sour about it. A report released in the morning said that U.S. employers were advertising many more job openings at the end of May than economists expected, the latest signal that the job market remains resilient.
But a second report said that confidence among U.S. consumers improved by less than economists expected. More Americans are saying it's hard to get a job, according to a survey by the Conference Board, even with data suggesting continued hiring.
Tuesday's relatively quiet trading came as companies close their books for the quarter running from April through June. Investors want to see strong growth in profits to justify the big gains stocks made early in the quarter. Despite June’s drop, the S&P 500 is still on track for its best quarter since six years ago, when stocks rocketed out of the crash caused by the COVID pandemic.
Concentrix tumbled 15.7% after the technology company reported profit and revenue for the latest quarter that were just shy of analysts’ expectations.
In the oil market, prices drifted as two U.S. envoys arrived in Qatar for talks with mediators about the implementation of an initial deal to end the war in Iran. The Americans will not be having direct negotiations with Iranian diplomats while in Doha.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, erased an early, modest rise and dipped 0.3% to $73.61. The hope is that an end to the war will restore full access to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing oil tankers to move more crude and lower its price.
Expensive oil has already sent inflation jumping around the world, which in turn has raised worries that the Federal Reserve and other central banks may have to raise interest rates. Higher rates would keep a lid on inflation, but they would also slow economic growth and hurt prices for investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.40% from 4.38% late Monday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.
Germany’s DAX returned 1.4%, and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1% for two of the world's bigger gains.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% as the value of the Japanese yen dropped near its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in 40 years.
U.S. government bonds are paying much higher yields than their Japanese counterparts, and the possibility of rate hikes by the Fed is putting more pressure on the yen. Speculation is rising that Japan’s government may try to prop up the yen’s value, but Japan’s finance minister said only that the government was ready to “respond appropriately whenever necessary.”
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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
