North American stock markets were reeling in mixed trading on Wednesday, while oil prices rose another 3 percent as tensions continued in the war with Iran.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell less than 0.1 percent, coming off its best day in three weeks, after swinging between small losses and gains for much of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 61 points, or 0.1 percent, as of 2:10 pm Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was down 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile on Bay Street, the TSX rose about 0.3 percent, helped mainly by the mining sector, including gold and silver, while other technology, construction and retail stocks were lower.
Most stocks in the S&P 500 rose after many companies reported strong earnings in the spring. Expectations for the reports are high, and companies will need to match them after their stock prices are already near record highs.
Philip Morris International rose 2.4 percent after the Marlboro cigar retailer reported stronger-than-expected profit and revenue in the latest quarter. Its shipments of non-smoking products increased by 7.5 percent.
AT&T rose 2.7 percent after reporting earnings that were stronger than analysts expected. CEO John Stankey also said the telecom is accelerating plans to send about $10 billion to its shareholders this year through stock buybacks.
Super Micro Computer surged 21.1 percent after the AI server vendor said it expects to report tighter profit margins in the latest quarter than it had previously forecast. However, it also said revenue would come in at the lower end of its forecast range of $11 billion to $12.5 billion.
They helped offset a 7.9 percent decline in GE Vernova, which reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
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The stock ticked 0.1 percent higher ahead of its earnings report, which is scheduled to arrive after the day’s trading. Expectations are high, and not just because Google’s parent company is one of the biggest stocks on Wall Street. It is also one of the biggest costs in artificial intelligence technology.
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Investors are looking for signs that the flood of dollars pouring into the processors, computer memory and other infrastructure of the AI boom is producing the kinds of productivity and profits that make the investment worthwhile. If not, shares of chip companies and other AI winners could look more expensive following their rapid run to the top.
Such concerns have kept AI shares at the center of Wall Street’s swings for weeks.
Micron Technology swung between a 3.6 percent loss and a 0.8 percent gain on Wednesday. That’s after it jumped 14.4 percent in the first two days of this week to recoup almost all of its 13.3 percent decline from last week. It is up nearly 241 percent year to date.
Stocks in general have also been under pressure from the continued rise in oil prices, which are raising costs for many businesses and eroding their profits.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 3.3 percent to $94 after briefly rising above $95 in the morning to touch its highest price in nearly six weeks. That’s up from less than $72 earlier this month, which is about where it was before the war with Iran.
Rising oil prices threaten a resurgence of inflation. That would then pressure the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow the economy and lower stock prices and other investments.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.66 percent from 4.63 percent late Tuesday and from 3.97 percent before the start of the war with Iran. It has already helped bring long-term US mortgage rates to their highest levels in nearly a year.
Oil prices have risen as fighting in the Middle East prevents oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Persian Gulf. In general, one-fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passes through the narrow road.
The AAA auto club said Wednesday that the average price of a gallon of regular gas in the US jumped again overnight to $4.06. That’s still below the high of $4.56 per gallon in May, but it was less than $3 before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
In stock markets abroad, indices rose in Europe following a mixed session in Asia.
London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1 percent on the world’s two biggest indexes.
– via file from Ariel Rabinovitch of Global
© 2026 The Canadian Press
