HONG KONG – More gains for makers of computer chips and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom carried Wall Street higher Tuesday.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 385 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%.
AI stocks once again were at the center of the action, and they rose for a second straight day after tumbling the week before.
After rocketing higher because of the boom in investment in AI chips and data centers, they’ve come under pressure in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high. Concerns are also weighing that investment in AI may fall off if it doesn’t produce as much profit and productivity as hoped.
Micron Technology jumped 12.2% and added to its 1.9% gain from the day before, coming off its 13.3% drop from last week. Nvidia added 2%, and they were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, and Brent crude oil briefly got near $92 per barrel for the first time in more than five weeks because of continued attacks between the United States and Iran. It later pared its gain to 2% and settled at $91.01. That’s up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran.
Rising oil prices are threatening a reacceleration of inflation, just as increases for prices were slowing more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.63% from 4.60% late Monday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.
On Wall Street, several stronger-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies helped stocks to strengthen despite the added pressure.
3M climbed 7.3% after topping analysts’ expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter. It also raised its forecast for profit over the full year of 2026.
Hasbro rallied 8.8% after the toy maker said its Magic: The Gathering game topped $500 million in revenue for a quarter for the first time. It also raised its revenue forecast for the year.
General Motors cruised 4.9% higher after the automaker’s profit and revenue for the latest quarter beat analysts’ expectations and CEO Mary Barra said demand in North America remains strong.