Wall Street hits fresh records as earnings season nears finish, oil eases

Stocks climbed further into record territory on Wall Street Wednesday morning, a day after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both closed at all-time highs. The S&P 500 was up 0.4%, the Dow added 584 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1% as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern time.

The gains came as companies wrapped up a strong earnings season, with three-quarters of S&P 500 firms having reported and Wall Street projecting 50% profit growth once all results are in. Chipmakers and other artificial-intelligence-linked companies led the advance, continuing a trend that has driven much of the market's recent momentum.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.63%. Oil prices eased, with international benchmark Brent crude falling 0.6% to $78.81 a barrel, well below the roughly $102 peak reached earlier during a five-month conflict that has disrupted global oil supplies and pushed up gasoline and shipping costs.

Inflation concerns tied to those energy costs continue to weigh on the Federal Reserve, which has held its benchmark interest rate steady while Wall Street anticipates at least one rate move before the end of 2026. The Labor Department's monthly employment report for July is due Friday, offering a fresh read on a jobs market that has remained a relative bright spot even as growth slows.

Read the full story at wral.com.