VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV will make his first trip to Latin America as pontiff in November, returning to a region where he spent much of his ministry, with visits to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, the Vatican announced Wednesday.
The Nov. 6-17 trip will include stops in Montevideo, Paysandú and Florida in Uruguay; Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Luján in Argentina; and Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa in Peru.
The visit is especially significant because of Leo’s longstanding ties to Peru. The first U.S.-born pope spent decades there as a missionary and church leader and served as bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He also holds Peruvian citizenship.
His return to Chiclayo, the diocese he led before his election, is expected to be one of the key moments of the trip.
Leo will also visit Argentina, the homeland of his predecessor, late Pope Francis. Despite repeated invitations, Francis, the first Latin American pope, never returned to Argentina during his 12-year papacy.
The Vatican said Leo will be in Uruguay from Nov. 6-8, Argentina from Nov. 8-11 and Peru from Nov. 11-17. A detailed itinerary will be released later.
The Latin America trip will follow Leo’s Sept. 25-28 visit to France, his first trip to the country as pope and part of an increasingly active travel schedule in the early months of his pontificate.
Pope Leo XIV waves to faithful on the occasion of the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Basilica,at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Leo XIV waves to faithful on the occasion of the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Leo XIV delivers a blessing in St. Peter's Basilica, on the occasion of the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock futures edged higher Wednesday morning, helped by strong corporate earnings reports and hopes for a deal setting the stage for talks that might eventually end the fighting in Iran.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.3%, while S&P 500 futures added 0.4%. Nasdaq futures gained 0.2%.
The Walt Disney Co. reported on Wednesday that a $1 billion box office haul from “Toy Story 5,” as well as strong results at its U.S. theme parks, helped drive up profits in the quarter ended in June. The stock gained 3.4% in the premarket.
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill rose 1.8% in the premarket, a day after sinking nearly 10%. The restaurant chain said Tuesday it removed jalapeños from some of its restaurants after determining the peppers could potentially be tied to a salmonella outbreak public health officials are investigating.
Offsetting those gains were losses for SpaceX, which shed more than 10%. Late Tuesday SpaceX reported a smaller loss than Wall Street expected along with a surge in revenue in its first quarterly report as a public company. Capital expenditures reached $18.4 billion, with the vast majority of that spending going toward AI. That spending reached nearly $16 billion.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday, as Iran and Oman inched toward an agreement on the critical waterway that could ease pressure on the global economy.
Still, oil prices resumed their ascent. Brent crude, the international standard, reversed early losses, gaining 1.15% to $80.28 per barrel early Wednesday. On Tuesday, it sank 5.3% as hopes rose for progress toward a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices swung between $72 and $102 through July on uncertainty about when calm in the Middle East would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude around the world.
Benchmarks jumped more than 3% in Tokyo and Seoul as shares in computer chipmakers and other AI-related companies advanced.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 3.7% with chipmaker Kioxia surging 4.2% while chip testing equipment maker Advantest soared 8.8%.
The Kospi in Seoul shot up 3.8%, led by a 5.8% gain for memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced 2.5%.
“Clearly today the market is rallying on the back of AI stocks. You look across the other sectors, there’s a bit of activity here and there, but really the focus has been back on semiconductors, technology and AI,” said Neil Newman, head of strategy for Astris Advisory Japan.
Elsewhere in the region, the Shanghai Composite index picked up 1.5% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.3%.
In European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% while the CAC 40 in Paris edged less than 0.1% higher. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.02%
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 shot up 1.8%, topping its prior all-time high set in June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.7% to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.6%.
Associated Press writer Mayuko Ono in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader passes by 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, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work 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, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
