Traders appear convinced that the ceasefire means few disruptions to the oil market, which would have raised prices and cut into profits.
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are hovering near their all-time high on Wednesday as financial markets take a pause after two significant days lifted by optimism that the Israel-Iran conflict will not interfere with the global crude oil supply.
The S&P 500 increased by 0.2% in early trading, standing just 0.7% shy of its record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average stayed mostly flat as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6%.
In the oil market, which has seen much of this week’s activity, crude prices steadied after dropping about $10 per barrel over the past two days. Benchmark U.S. crude went up 0.7% to $64.81 per barrel, though it’s still below its price before the Israel-Iran hostilities began nearly two weeks ago.
A fragile ceasefire between the two countries appears to be holding, at least for the moment.
On Wall Street, companies involved in the cryptocurrency industry jumped to some of the bigger gains as the price of bitcoin continued to steam ahead with investors willing to take on more risk. Coinbase Global, the crypto exchange, rose 7%, and Robinhood Markets gained 4% as bitcoin topped $107,000.
They helped offset a 5.3% drop for FedEx. It reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but it gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that fell short of expectations.
General Mills, the company behind Pillsbury and Progresso soups, fell 2.8% after reporting weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit topped forecasts. It also said an underlying measure of profits could fall by 10% to 15% this upcoming fiscal year.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were holding relatively steady, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.32% from 4.30% late Tuesday.
Yields had dropped a day before after the chair of the Federal Reserve said it is waiting for the right moment to resume cutting interest rates. By lowering rates, the Fed could help give the economy a boost, but it could also offer additional fuel for inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a House of Representatives committee on Tuesday that he wants to wait and see how President Donald Trump’s tariffs affect the economy and inflation before committing to its next move. Powell will speak before a Senate committee later Wednesday morning.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly in Europe after rising across much of Asia.
Stocks jumped 1.2% in Hong Kong and 1% in Shanghai for two of the larger moves.
“The world can now move on to face other difficult choices like tariffs and things like that,” said Frances Lun, CEO of GEO Securities in Hong Kong. “So I think the market is well on its way to rebound and could again reach new levels.”
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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