Kylian Mbappé responded to a fresh wave of criticism in Spain, insisting on Tuesday he remains fully committed to recovering from his latest injury.
The Real Madrid and France forward is sidelined by a left hamstring issue which is casting doubt about his availability for Sunday's clasico in Barcelona, the biggest match in Spanish soccer.
During his time off, Mbappé reportedly traveled to Italy with actress Ester Expósito last weekend, prompting criticism in Spanish media that he may not be taking his rehabilitation seriously. Madrid fans also questioned why the league's best striker was on holiday ahead of the clasico.
Mbappé denied any wrongdoing through a statement from his representatives sent to The Associated Press.
“Part of the criticism is based on an overinterpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club, without reflecting the reality of Kylian’s commitment and the work he puts in every day for the team,” the statement read.
Unhappy Real Madrid supporters believe Mbappé is saving himself for the World Cup that begins in five weeks.
He also drew criticism earlier this season when he couldn't play because of a knee ailment.
Madrid has little to play for in the final stretch of the season. It has been eliminated in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, and is virtually out of contention in La Liga as it trails Barcelona by 11 points with four rounds remaining. Barcelona could clinch on Sunday.
Madrid has yet to say whether Mbappé will be fit and available for the clasico. Spanish media say Mbappé went to Madrid’s training center on a day off to continue his recovery.
AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni in Madrid contributed.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Betis' Natan guards Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe during a La Liga soccer match between Real Betis and Real Madrid in Seville, Spain, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts during a La Liga soccer match between Real Betis and Real Madrid in Seville, Spain, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rising toward records Tuesday after an easing of oil prices let Wall Street turn its focus back to the big profits that companies keep producing.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and was on track to top its all-time high set at the end of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 248 points, or 0.5%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was heading toward its own record after climbing 0.7%.
Stocks got a boost after oil prices gave back some of their big jumps from Monday. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 3.3% to $110.70 after briefly topping $115 on Monday, though it’s still well above its roughly $70 price from before the war with Iran.
A ceasefire in the war appears to be holding, even after the United Arab Emirates said Monday that Iran fired missiles and drones at it. The U.S. military is trying to force open a path in the Strait of Hormuz, which would allow oil tankers to resume shipments from the Persian Gulf and hopefully bring down the price of crude.
Iran’s powerful parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, accused the United States of undermining regional security with the effort to end Iran’s stranglehold on the strait and warned that Tehran will respond.
Even with the war ongoing, the U.S. stock market has remained remarkably resilient on its record-setting run. That’s in large part due to the strong profits that U.S. companies have reported for the start of 2026 despite the rise in oil prices since the end of February.
“This has been a ‘why ask why’ market,'” according to Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “You just have to go with it.”
Even though many risks are still weighing on the market, “investors are looking at earnings” and how much companies are spending on AI data centers and other investments, he said.
DuPont’s stock rallied 8.7% Tuesday after the chemical giant led another cavalcade of companies reporting better-than-expected profits for the latest quarter.
DuPont said its water technologies business felt some impact because of the war with Iran due to logistics disruptions in the Middle East. But it nevertheless raised its forecasts for financial results over the full year due in part to its strong start to 2026.
Other winners included American Electric Power Co., which rose 1.8%, and Cummins, which added 1.7%, after they likewise made more money during the first three months of the year than analysts expected.
Pinterest soared 14% after the online bulletin board topped Wall Street’s first-quarter sales and profit targets as its number of active monthly users jumped 11% to 631 million.
AB InBev likewise topped analysts’ profit forecasts, and it credited growth for its Corona, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra brands outside of their home markets. “Cheers to beer,” CEO Michel Doukeris said, as the company’s stock that trades in the United States jumped 9.2%.
They helped offset a drop for Palantir Technologies, which fell 4.3% even though it reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock has struggled this year with worries about increased competition, like many software companies have. Its stock is also coming off a huge run where it more than doubled in each of the last three years.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe. The CAC 40 rose 0.6% in Paris, but the FTSE 100 fell 1.7% in London. Many Asian markets were closed for holidays, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 4.35%, saying conflict in the Middle East had sharply increased fuel and commodity prices that were already adding to inflation.
In the U.S. bond market, Treasury yields eased after oil prices gave back some of Monday’s gains and reports on the U.S. economy came in mixed.
One report said growth for U.S. services businesses unexpectedly decelerated last month, with some companies saying the war is slowing spending. A separate report said U.S. employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of March than economists expected, an encouraging signal for the job market.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.42% from 4.45% late Monday.
That’s still well above its 3.97% level from just before the war began. That rise has made mortgages and other kinds of loans for U.S. households and businesses more expensive.
AP Writers Chan Ho-him, Matt Ott and Rod McGuirk contributed.
Specialist Patrick King works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Options trader Anthony Spina, foreground, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A board above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
FILE - A train arrives at a Wall Street subway station in New York's Financial District on Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
