NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising toward the finish of their record-setting week on Friday, even as other financial markets remain indecisive.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and clawed back some of its two straight days of losses since setting its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 242 points, or 0.5%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.
The moves were tentative as oil prices continue to yo-yo because of uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal. The price for a barrel of Brent crude bounced between $102.50 and $105 in the morning, and it was most recently at $104.91, up 0.6%.
Treasury yields flipped up and down in the bond market following their own sharp moves earlier in the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was most recently at 5.26%, up from 5.22% late Thursday.
It recently touched its highest level since 2002 because of worries about high inflation, the U.S. government’s massive debt load, signals that the U.S. economy is continuing to grow and other factors.
High yields threaten to slow the economy by making borrowing money more expensive for everyone, and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has already leaped to its highest level in nearly three years.
Yields are also shooting higher in other bond markets around the world, which make investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks and other investments. But the high yields have attracted investors to recent auctions of Treasurys, and that demand is helping to limit further increases for yields.
On Wall Street, Humana rallied 13% and helped lift the U.S. stock market despite the pressure coming from the oil and bond markets. The insurer said it received encouraging data about its quality ratings versus its competitors for Medicare Advantage plans.
Companies that own cell towers were also at the front of the market, including leaps of 14.8% for Crown Castle and 8.5% for American Tower.
They rallied after SpaceX announced a purchase that could help it become a major mobile carrier in the United States. It still needs to get approval from U.S. regulators, but SpaceX said the purchase of low-band spectrum would allow its Starlink Mobile business to have a signal that can penetrate walls and connect customers inside buildings who may not be able to access its satellites. SpaceX's stock rose 1.6%.
The threat of another big competitor sent stocks lower across the wireless industry, including drops of 12.8% for T-Mobile US, 10% for AT&T and 10.1% for Verizon.
Delta Air Lines lost 1.8% after reporting weaker profit and revenue for the summer than analysts expected. CEO Ed Bastian said demand remains strong and customers want to fly, but the airline is also having to absorb a $6 billion increase in fuel costs this year.
The pressure is on companies broadly to deliver strong growth in profits after their stock prices ran toward records despite the downward push from high bond yields. Next week will bring high-profile profit reports from the country’s biggest banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all on Tuesday.
Expectations are high for corporate profits, even as Americans say they're feeling more squeezed by high inflation. A preliminary report from the University of Michigan said Friday that U.S. consumers are raising their own forecasts for how bad inflation will be over the coming year.
They're expecting inflation of 4.7%, up from their forecast of 4.6% a month ago and just 3.4% in February before the war with Iran began. Sentiment among consumers is falling sharply for Americans with lower incomes and smaller investments in stocks, who can least afford the fast increases in the cost of living.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rallied in Europe with gains of at least 1% in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Asian markets were more mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished nearly unchanged, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.8%.
AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Specialist Anthony Matesic works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Specialist Dilip Patel works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - An entrance to the New York Stock Exchange is shown on June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Advocates of human rights and international justice cheered, as Israel and its supporters expressed disappointment, after South African jurist and former U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
The 85-year-old, who currently serves as an ad hoc judge at the U.N.'s International Court of Justice, drew huge applause and an outpouring of praise for her work over decades — including as an investigator of crimes in Rwanda, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, and as a lawyer who helped defend Nelson Mandela.
Here's a look at some of the reactions to the announcement of her award:
— “Today’s prize is a tribute to all those working to uphold and defend international law, the rule of law and human rights, and secure peace, justice and human dignity,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement welcoming the award.
— “Justice Pillay’s crowning as winner of the Nobel Prize allows us to celebrate the progressive contributions she has made to strengthen peace, uphold human dignity and bring hope in South Africa and to peoples globally. She has served humanity with principle and the belief that the world can and should be a better place,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
— “The Nobel Prize committee has lost its moral compass. It has awarded its highest honor to a bigot who built her career around inventing and propagating blood libels against the one and only Jewish state,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X.
— “Few have devoted their lives to justice, peace and human dignity like she did. From the violence of apartheid in South Africa to the horrors of the Rwandan genocide, she has confronted some of humanity’s darkest chapters. She has looked the brutality of injustice in the eye and never looked away. She is the defender of the persecuted, the vulnerable, the voiceless and the excluded. Of the rule of law over the right of might. In a world that needs justice more than ever, her courage and moral clarity are a precious compass,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X.
— "To say it is well-deserved is an understatement. At a time when human rights are under attack on so many fronts, including from those who wield enormous power, this award is particularly poignant. It is an award to all those who, around the world, dedicate their lives to the defense of human rights — often at great risk to their security," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, one of Pillay's successors in that post.
— “She has had a profound influence in South Africa, Rwanda, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and as leader of the U.N.’s human rights body," said Philippe Bolopion, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
— “It’s a prize for survivors and victims of genocide and apartheid and shows they can survive and defeat illegality,” said Omar Awadallah, a deputy foreign minister in the Palestinian Authority.
— “Her achievements remind us that the pursuit of justice and the protection of human dignity are not merely ideals to be upheld, but responsibilities to be advanced through principled leadership and purposeful action,” South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pillay's alma mater, said in a statement.
__ “This could not be a better choice at the time of the attacks against international justice. She is a former ICC judge at a time when the U.S. administration is seeking to destroy the ICC,” said Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard.
— "She has shown the world that the quest for justice and the quest for peace are one and the same. At a moment where international law is under attack, along with the institutions that exist to uphold it, her work should serve as an inspiration to us all," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas posted on X.
— "We in the Spanish government join in this recognition, applaud her work and reaffirm, now more than ever, our support for international organizations responsible for safeguarding peace," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted on X.
— "Her life’s work — from her struggle against apartheid to her outstanding contributions to international criminal justice and the United Nations — deserves our highest recognition. Germany stands firmly behind international law and international justice," Steffen Meyer, deputy spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said in a news briefing.
Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
AP Nobel Prizes: https://apnews.com/hub/nobel-prizes
South African-born jurist and former U.N. human rights chief Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, speaks at the Nuremberg Forum in Nuremberg, Germany, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, following the announcement that she had been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. (Daniel Karmann/dpa via AP)
