NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose and trimmed their losses in what had been a rocky June. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% Tuesday, though it still fell to its first losing month following two fabulous ones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% to another record, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5%. Stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry were strong following sharp swings earlier in the month on worries they’d grown too expensive. Treasury yields rose in the bond market as oil prices eased. Stock indexes rose in much of Europe and Asia, while the Japanese yen fell near a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are trimming their losses from a rocky June on Tuesday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, though it's still heading for its first losing month following two fabulous ones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 140 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:20 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.
The main reason for this month’s weakness has been a fall to Earth for stocks in the industry. After soaring to in the frenzy around AI, such stocks have come because of worries that they shot too high. That’s a big deal for all investors because AI stocks have grown into some of Wall Street’s largest and most influential, pulling indexes behind them.
AI stocks were stronger Tuesday, with Nvidia rising 2% to trim its loss for the month. It was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
Microsoft, which is investing heavily in AI, rose 0.6% to bring its loss for the month back below 18%. Oracle, though, fell 0.8% to bring its drop for June to 35%. It's another company contending with concerns that big spending on AI may not yield enough productivity and profits to make it worth it.
Outside of AI, the economy seems to be rumbling along, even though U.S. households are still . A report released in the morning said that U.S. employers were at the end of May than economists expected, the latest signal that the job market remains resilient.
But a second report said that confidence among U.S. consumers improved by less than economists expected. More Americans are saying it's hard to get a job, according to a survey by the Conference Board, even with data suggesting continued hiring.
Tuesday's relatively quiet trading came as companies close their books for the quarter running from April through June. Investors want to see strong growth in profits to justify the big gains stocks made early in the quarter. Despite June’s drop, the S&P 500 is still on track for its best quarter since six years ago, when stocks rocketed out of the crash caused by the COVID pandemic.
Concentrix tumbled 13.1% after the technology company reported profit and revenue for the latest quarter that were just shy of analysts’ expectations.
In the oil market, prices drifted as two in Qatar for talks with mediators about the implementation of . The Americans will not be having direct negotiations with Iranian diplomats while in Doha.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, erased an early, modest rise and fell 1.1% to $73.12. The hope is that an end to the war will restore full access to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing oil tankers to move more crude and lower its price.
Expensive oil has already sent inflation jumping around the world, which in turn has raised worries that the Federal Reserve and other central banks may have to raise interest rates. Higher rates would keep a lid on inflation, but they would also slow economic growth and hurt prices for investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.41% from 4.38% late Monday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.
Germany’s DAX returned 1.5%, and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1% for two of the world's bigger gains.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% as the value of the Japanese yen dropped near its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in 40 years.
U.S. government bonds are paying much higher yields than their Japanese counterparts, and the possibility of rate hikes by the Fed is putting more pressure on the yen. Speculation is rising that Japan’s government may try to prop up the yen’s value, but Japan’s finance minister said only that the government was ready to “respond appropriately whenever necessary.”
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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
