Stock market today: Wall Street holds steadier as oil prices pare their gains

NEW YORK — (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting Wednesday, and Treasury yields are rising following an encouraging update on the U.S. job market's strength.

The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in midday trading, a day after sliding from its record on worries about a possible widening of the fighting in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92 points, or 0.2%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%.

Oil prices rose again as the world waits to see how Israel will respond to Tuesday's missile attack from Iran, but they pared their gains as the morning progressed. After briefly topping $76 earlier, the price for a barrel of Brent crude was sitting at $74.04, up 0.7% from the day before.

While Israel is not a major producer of oil, Iran is, and a worry is that a broadening war could affect other neighboring countries that are also integral to the flow of crude.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose after a report indicated hiring by U.S. employers outside the government may have been stronger last month than expected.

The report from ADP Research said private-sector employers accelerated their hiring to a pace of 143,000 in September. That could be an encouraging signal for the more comprehensive report on the U.S. job market that’s arriving on Friday from the U.S. government.

The dominant question hanging over Wall Street has been whether the job market will continue to hold up after the Federal Reserve earlier kept interest rates at a two-decade high in hopes of braking on the economy enough to stamp out high inflation.

Stocks are near their records in large part on the belief that the U.S. economy will indeed continue to grow, now that the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates to give it more juice. The Fed last month lowered its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years and indicated more cuts will arrive through next year.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.79% from 3.73% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which more closely follows expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, rose to 3.63% from 3.61%.

Traders are shifting their expectations for the Fed’s next move on rates toward a traditional-sized cut of a quarter of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group. Last week, more traders were betting on a larger cut of half a percentage point.

On Wall Street, Caesars Entertainment jumped 6.2% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The casino owner said it approved a new program to deliver up to $500 million to shareholders by buying back more of its stock.

Ciena climbed 6.5% after the networking company announced its own program to buy back up to $1 billion of its stock.

Exxon Mobil rose 1.3% as crude prices continued to rise, bringing its gain for the week to 4.9%.

They helped offset a 17.5% tumble for Humana after the insurer warned a drop in its quality ratings for Medicare Advantage could mean a hit to its revenue in 2026. Humana said it believes there may be errors in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' calculations, and it is trying to challenge the ratings.

Nike sank 5.9% even though the athletic giant reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of forecasts, and the slump shows how much work incoming CEO Elliott Hill has in making the brand cool among customers. Nike also pulled its forecast for full-year financial results and postponed its investors day conference.

Conagra Brands fell 9.4% after the company behind Duncan Hines and Reddi-wip reported weaker profit than analysts expected. It said temporary manufacturing disruptions at its Hebrew National business during prime grilling season hurt its results.

Tesla sank 3.4% despite reporting an increase in its deliveries of electric vehicles during the latest quarter, the first time that's happened this year. The number topped analysts' forecasts, but investors may have been expecting an even bigger increase.

In stock markets abroad, Hong Kong's Hang Seng roared 6.2% higher, riding a wave of investor enthusiasm over recent announcements from Beijing to rev up the Chinese economy. With Shanghai and other markets in China closed for a holiday, trading crowded into Hong Kong.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.2% to continue its sharp swings, while indexes in Europe were mixed.

___

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.