The US stock market rallied to more records on Wednesday after more big companies reported bigger profits for the start of the year than analysts had expected.
But caution still hung over Wall Street, and oil prices rose on uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran.
The S&P 500 jumped 1% and topped its prior all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 340 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite set its own record after jumping 1.6%.
The vast majority of companies in the S&P 500 have so far been delivering results for the start of 2026 that have topped analysts' expectations, even with the war in Iran driving up oil prices and uncertainty for the global economy. Such strong performances have helped the S&P 500 power higher, and the index recorded its 13th gain in its last 16 days.
Still, another rise in oil prices helped keep enthusiasm in check on Wall Street. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed 3.5% to $US101.91 on uncertainty about when the war with Iran could let up and allow petroleum to flow freely to customers from the Persian Gulf again.
The war has restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran's coast that oil tankers typically use to exit the Persian Gulf. Iran fired on three ships in the strait and seized two of them on Wednesday.
A day earlier, US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire but also said he was maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports. The blockade keeps Iran from making money by selling its own crude oil.
The standoff over Iran's closure of the strait and the US blockade raised doubts about when or if talks would resume to end the crisis.
Brent crude has shot up from roughly $US70 per barrel since before the war on worries about a long-term disruption to the flow of oil. But moves in both the oil and stock markets have become more modest in recent weeks, following vicious swings where Brent's price briefly topped $US119 and the S&P 500 dropped nearly 10% below its prior all-time high.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 73.89 points to 7,137.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 340.65 to 49,490.03, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 397.60 to 24,657.57.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 1.2%.
The Associated Press
