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)

MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks with President Vladimir Putin about the results of U.S.-mediated negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump's son-in-law, attended the two days of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The talks wrapped up Wednesday with an agreement on a large exchange of prisoners, but no visible breakthrough on ending the nearly five-year hostilities.

After meeting with Putin, Kushner said that he and Witkoff will fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy gave a muted welcome to the outcome of the talks, saying that the proposed prisoner exchange was a positive step. At the same time, he insisted that Ukraine won't give in to demands that it cede its territory that has been occupied by Russia in exchange for peace.

Hopes had been low for any significant breakthrough in the first meeting in nine months between the delegations. From time to time, Russia and Ukraine have swapped prisoners, but have remained far apart in their demands for accepting a peace settlement.

Along with post-conflict security guarantees for both countries, other key hurdles are the fate of Russia-occupied Ukrainian territory and what role European countries will play in an eventual settlement.

Moscow doesn’t want European countries, which are concerned about Russia’s conduct and broader intentions on the continent, involved in the direct negotiations. Kushner said that one of the goals of the Moscow meeting is to try to get Europeans added to the talks.

Kushner noted that both Ukraine and Russia needed clarity on post-conflict security arrangements, and European countries, the European Union and NATO have to be involved in those discussions to build consensus on the next steps.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that European representatives could eventually join peace talks.

But Peskov said that their current statements “don’t indicate any desire on their part to contribute to movement along the path toward peace.” Moscow complains that Europe is financing and supplying weaponry to Ukraine.

Ukraine wants to ensure that Moscow doesn’t attack again, and EU officials say any discussions on Europe’s security arrangements could only start after a ceasefire. Many in Europe see the inclusion of Russia in those plans as a concession to Putin, who has described NATO’s eastward expansion as a top security threat to his country. Moscow has demanded that the alliance withdraw its troops from Russia’s borders.

Fighting continues along the 1,200-kilometer (about 750-mile) front line, where little territory has changed hands this year, while both countries are battering each other with long-range missiles and drones.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 71 Ukrainian drones overnight.

The ministry declared that the military has struck a drone-making plant in Kyiv and three other facilities producing missile fuel and drone components in the area around the Ukrainian capital. It said that other strikes hit power substations in Zhytomyr and a bulk carrier heading to the Black Sea port of Odesa with cargo for the Ukrainian armed forces.

A Russian military serviceman was killed in St. Petersburg early Thursday when his vehicle exploded, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s main criminal investigation agency. It didn’t name the victim or say who could be behind the bombing. Fontanka news outlet said that the victim was a colonel and an explosive device in his car went off as he drove off. Another person accompanying him was wounded, it said.

Several senior officers have been killed by bombings and other attacks that Russia has blamed on Ukraine. Kyiv has claimed responsibility for some attacks on Russian soil.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the fighting in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greets Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law,, right, and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, center, during their meeting at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin, Moscow, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, second right, speaks to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, second left, and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, third left, as Russian Presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, behind Putin, and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries Kirill Dmitriev, right, sit near during the meeting at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin, Moscow, on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Searchers carry the body of a civilian from an apartment building following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Law enforcement officer inspects the site of a car explosion that killed a military serviceman in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo)

In this photo provided by Kirill Dmitriev X-account Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, left, greets U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, center, at the international airport outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (Kirill Dmitriev, X-account via AP)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference after a bilateral meeting with Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026 ahead of the European Political Community (EPC) Summit. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, left, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, second left, and Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, right, walk out of the hotel towards The Kremlin for the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner, left, and Steve Witkoff confer during a briefing following U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner speaks at a briefing following U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner speaks at a briefing during U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine, alongside U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, left, and Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, second from right, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)