S&P 500 Rises on Earnings Optimism as Oil Declines: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks joined bonds higher as oil prices dropped and bets on solid earnings overshadowed a renewed bout of tech volatility.
About 400 companies in the S&P 500 rose, erasing the index’s earlier decline. A bounce in chipmakers also helped sentiment. Brent oil fell to around $109. Despite inaccurate reports that a peace agreement between the US and Iran is close, talks aimed at reaching a deal continue, according to a diplomat involved in negotiations. Long-term Treasuries outperformed.
Investors are also awaiting a spate of tech earnings for clues on whether the AI boom can justify the billions of dollars being poured into the industry. SpaceX is due to report late Tuesday, followed by Meta Platforms Inc. tomorrow.
The key question is whether recent growth rates can be sustained as comparisons become more demanding and macroeconomic risks persist, according to Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Chief Investment Office.
“We expect a strong third-quarter tech earnings season from a fundamental perspective, but elevated expectations may lead to company-specific volatility,” she said.
The latest evidence that investors are questioning the outlook for the AI trade came with Elice Inc.’s trading debut. The South Korean AI computing supplier scarcely known outside its home market tanked 32% in Seoul.
Meantime, CoreWeave Inc., which had plunged last week as its bonds reached distressed levels, climbed on Tuesday.
“There are no signs that demand for AI is slowing,” said Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones. “We’re seeing healthy skepticism and a maturation of the theme, moving away from an environment where everything AI-related goes up toward a greater focus on quality and the companies with the deepest pockets to finance the investment needed to meet demand.”
Pockets of the AI trade had recently come under severe selling pressure as investors reassess financing costs, competition, and the returns on infrastructure spending. They are simply becoming less willing to finance growth in the current environment without a clearer path to stronger returns, according to Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise.
“AI remains a long-term driver of earnings and economic growth, but investors are becoming more selective about which companies get rewarded from here,” he said. “For investors, that argues for owning AI exposure selectively rather than broadly, keeping technology concentration in check, and diversifying across market caps, sectors, and regions.”
Corporate Highlights:
Salesforce Inc. plugged a gap in its marketing platform with an agreement to buy Braze Inc. for an enterprise value of about $5.7 billion, aiming to add more artificial intelligence features to products that were increasingly seen as outdated. 3M Co. topped profit estimates and raised its full-year outlook for the second straight quarter as the maker of Scotch tape and Post-it notes works to rejuvenate its operations. General Motors Co. tumbled as shareholders looked past plans for another $20 billion in stock repurchases and focused instead on a narrower profit outlook reflecting sliding sales. Halliburton Co. is predicting years of growth for oil field service work as nations replenish crude reserves and the Middle East rebuilds infrastructure damaged in the Iran war. RTX Corp. raised its full-year outlook for a third straight quarter as the aerospace and defense manufacturer gets a boost from robust global air travel and rising demand for military hardware. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 2:58 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 was little changed The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% The MSCI World Index rose 0.2% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1238 The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.3384 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 158.19 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $82,453.23 Ether rose 1.6% to $2,435.37 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 5.12% Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 3.40% Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 5.41% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.8% to $101.79 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,122.93 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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