Wall Street rises again as US stocks pull closer to their records

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks pulled closer to their record on Tuesday as the wait continued for more updates on President Donald Trump’s tariffs and how much they’re affecting the economy.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, coming off a modest gain that added to its stellar May. It’s back within 2.8% of its all-time high set earlier this year after falling roughly 20% below two months ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 214 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8%.

Dollar General jumped 15.8% for one of the market’s bigger gains after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the start of the year than analysts expected. The discount retailer also raised its forecasts for profit and revenue over the full year, though it cautioned that “uncertainty exists for the remainder of the year” because of tariffs and how they might affect its customers.

Many other companies have cut or withdrawn their financial forecasts for the upcoming year because of the uncertainty caused by Trump’s on-again-off-again rollout of tariffs. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Tuesday that it’s forecasting 1.6% growth for the U.S. economy this year, down from 2.8% last year.

But while Trump’s tariffs have certainly made U.S. households feel more pessimistic about where the economy and inflation are heading, reports have suggested only a moderate hit so far. Manufacturers have begun to feel the effects, but the overall job market has remained solid overall with layoffs remaining relatively low, and inflation has not taken off.

A report on Tuesday morning showed U.S. employers were advertising more job openings at the end of April than economists expected, another signal that the labor market remains resilient. It set the stage for a more important report coming on Friday, which will show how much hiring and firing U.S. employers did in May.

On the trade front, hopes are still high on Wall Street that Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that will ultimately lower tariffs, particularly with the world’s second-largest economy. The U.S. side said President Donald Trump was expecting to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Tuesday that they had no information on that.

All the hope has brought the U.S. stock market almost all the way back to its record heights nearly as quickly as it plunged in April.

“This calm won’t last indefinitely, but it will take unexpected policy news or growth and inflation data to inflect the narrative and push the markets outside these ranges,” according to Jason Draho, head of asset allocation, Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.

On Wall Street, tech stocks helped lead the way again as Nvidia rose 2.9%, and Broadcom climbed 3.3%. The chip companies have recovered their sharp losses from earlier this year borne amid worries their stock prices had shot too high.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 34.43 points to 5,970.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 214.16 to 42,519.64, and the Nasdaq composite gained 156.34 to 19,398.96.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.45% from 4.46% late Monday, though it had been lower earlier in the morning before the stronger-than-expected report on U.S. jobs openings.

It’s a cooldown following a sharp rise for yields over the last two months. Yields had been climbing in part on worries about how the U.S. government may be set to add trillions of dollars to its debt through tax cuts.

Besides making it more expensive for U.S. households and businesses to borrow money, higher Treasury yields can also discourage investors from paying high prices for stocks and other investments.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly across much of Europe and Asia.

Hong Kong was an outlier, where the Hang Seng jumped 1.5%. That came despite a report showing Chinese manufacturing activity slowed in May.

South Korean markets were closed for a snap presidential election that resulted in a victory for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung. The election was triggered by the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who now faces an explosive trial on rebellion charges over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Trader Edward McCarthy works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Michael Pistillo, left, and trader Robert Charmak work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Daniel Kryger works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders James Bodner, left, and Chris Lagana work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders Christopher Lagana, left, and Jeffrey Vazquez work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

People walk in the rain in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 26, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 26, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)