AI stocks lead Wall Street higher, even as Brent oil's price tops $91

NEW YORK (AP) — More gains for makers of computer chips and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom carried Wall Street higher Tuesday.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 385 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%.

AI stocks once again were at the center of the action, and they rose for a second straight day after tumbling the week before.

After rocketing higher because of the boom in investment in AI chips and data centers, they’ve come under pressure in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high. Concerns are also weighing that investment in AI may fall off if it doesn’t produce as much profit and productivity as hoped.

Micron Technology jumped 12.2% and added to its 1.9% gain from the day before, coming off its 13.3% drop from last week. Nvidia added 2%, and they were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, and Brent crude oil briefly got near $92 per barrel for the first time in more than five weeks because of continued attacks between the United States and Iran. It later pared its gain to 2% and settled at $91.01. That’s up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran.

Rising oil prices are threatening a reacceleration of inflation, just as increases for prices were slowing more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.63% from 4.60% late Monday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.

On Wall Street, several stronger-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies helped stocks to strengthen despite the added pressure.

3M climbed 7.3% after topping analysts’ expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter. It also raised its forecast for profit over the full year of 2026.

Hasbro rallied 8.8% after the toy maker said its Magic: The Gathering game topped $500 million in revenue for a quarter for the first time. It also raised its revenue forecast for the year.

General Motors cruised 4.9% higher after the automaker’s profit and revenue for the latest quarter beat analysts’ expectations and CEO Mary Barra said demand in North America remains strong.

They helped offset a drop for Danaher, which slid 11% even though it likewise topped analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue. Analysts pointed to its forecast for an underlying measure of revenue growth for the summer, which was weaker than Wall Street expected.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton slipped 0.9% despite topping profit and revenue expectations for the latest quarter. Executive Chairman David Auld said it’s still feeling the effects of affordability concerns in the housing market and caution among potential homebuyers.

Mortgage rates have already climbed to their highest level in nearly a year because of higher Treasury yields in the bond market. That could force D.R. Horton to offer more incentives to homebuyers in the current quarter, which would cut into its profits.

Companies broadly are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profit and revenue because of how high their stock prices have shot. Indexes are near their records, even with the recent shakiness for AI stocks.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 65.92 points to 7,509.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 385.38 to 52,224.64, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 329.13 to 25,837.21.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe. The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 added 0.6% as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosted his first Cabinet meeting.

In Asia, stocks swung more. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.6% on strong gains for its two dominant stocks. Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been big beneficiaries of the AI boom, and the Kospi has soared 60% so far this year even with its 20% drop through July.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 3.3% after returning from Monday’s holiday, while indexes rose 1.8% in Shanghai and edged down by less than 0.1% in Hong Kong.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

An employee walks past near the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) are placed at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co. stock price at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

ENSENADA, Mexico (AP) — Three men charged with murder in the 2024 killings of two Australian brothers and an American friend went on trial Monday in Mexico’s Baja California state, court officials said.

The three men are charged with murder and aggravated robbery in the killing of the three people who went missing while camping and surfing at a remote beach in Baja.

Jesús Gerardo García, known as “El Kekas,” and two others identified as Irineo Francisco N. and Ángel Jesús N. appeared in court in the coastal city of Ensenada over the deaths of Callum Ryan Robinson, 33, Jake Martin Robinson, 30 and Jack Carter Rhoad, 30. The surnames of the latter two defendants were withheld in according with Mexican criminal procedure.

Their bodies were found several days later, dumped in a cliff-top shaft with gunshot wounds to their heads.

Martin Robinson, the father of the Australian brothers, attended the hearing with his wife.

“I know they would want us to be here; they would do the same for us,” he told reporters before entering the courthouse.

Prosecutors say the men were killed during an attempt to steal their pickup truck, which was later found burned near their bodies.

García former partner, Silva Raya, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year after admitting she instigated the robbery to steal the pickup’s tires.

The trial is due to continue Tuesday.

Martin Robinson, the father of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, leaves a courthouse in Ensenada, Mexico after the trial of men accused of murder in connection with the deaths of two Australians and a U.S. citizen, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Tashiro Malekium)