NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix, Oracle and other technology stocks lift U.S. indexes Wednesday as their profits accumulate more And enthusiasm rises around the money-making prospects of artificial intelligence.
The S&P 500 was up 0.6% at midday and on track for its sixth gain in the last seven days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 68 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:35 a.m. Eastern Time, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.2%.
Netflix helped lead the way after saying live events like football matches and a Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight helped it add nearly 19 million subscribers during the last quarter. It also reported a higher profit than analysts expected and said it was raising subscription prices in the United States and other countries. Netflix jumped 11.3%.
The streaming giant joined a growing list of companies that beat analysts’ earnings expectations for the end of 2024. Such results support their stock prices and counter the downward push they have been felt due to the rise in Treasury yields in the bond market in recent months.
Procter & Gamble rose 3% after the company behind Charmin, Crest and Pampers reported higher-than-expected profits and revenue for the latest quarter. It also said it was maintaining its financial guidance for the full fiscal year, even though rising raw material costs and the stronger value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies are hurting its results.
Travelers rose 4% after also beating analysts’ profit expectations. The insurer said gains on its investments and growth in net premiums written helped it overcome losses created by Hurricane Miltonthat hit the Florida Gulf Coast in October, and other disasters.
Some of the market’s strongest upward surges have come from AI-related companies. Oracle climbed 6.2% to add to its 7.2% rise the day before, ahead of the expected announcement Tuesday evening. Stargatea joint venture that the White House says will begin building data centers and generating electricity needed for further AI development in Texas.
The partnership formed by Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank will invest up to $500 billion. SoftBank Group Corp. shares in Tokyo increased by 10.6%.
Other AI-related stocks also soared, strengthening their already fantastic run. Nvidia, the company whose chips are driving much of the shift to AI, rose 3.6%. Its stock sits above $145 after staying below $18 just two years ago.
They helped offset declines of 4.9% for Textron and 1.8% for Halliburton. Both companies reported last quarter profit at least above analysts’ expectations, but their revenues also fell short of forecasts.
Textron, the company behind Bell helicopters and Cessna planes, also gave a profit forecast for the coming year that fell short of some analysts’ expectations.
On foreign stock markets, indices rose in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia.
On the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield rose from 4.57% to 4.60% on Tuesday evening. She had been in serious decline for a encouraging update on inflation last week, but it remains well above its September level, when it was below 3.65%.
BlackRock Investment Institute strategists say they expect rates to stay high for longer for a wide range of reasons, including an aging workforce and very high U.S. government debt levels .
“Investors are demanding greater compensation for the risk of holding long-term bonds, pushing the term premium to a decade high,” according to strategists led by Jean Boivin.
For stocks to remain resilient and continue to advance despite high interest rates, companies will need to continue generating solid earnings growth, and Mr. Boivin said he sees encouraging signals.
In the cryptocurrency market, which has surged on hopes that President Donald Trump will make Washington more industry-friendly, bitcoin was below $104,000. He had set a record record above $109,000 Monday. A few acidity persists after the launch of Trump and his wife coinswhich critics said seemed like an unseemly cash grab.
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AP writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
