AI stocks gather more strength, even as Brent oil's price tops $90

NEW YORK (AP) — More gains for makers of computer chips and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom are carrying Wall Street higher on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 219 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.

AI stocks were once again at the center of the action, and they were rising 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 rising that AI investments may fall off if they don’t produce as much profit and productivity as promised.

Micron Technology jumped 7.8% and added to its 1.9% gain from the day before, coming off its 13.3% drop from last week.

Nvidia added 1.5% after disclosing that it owns 9.3% of the stock of Nebius, a Dutch AI cloud company. Nvidia and Micron were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, and Brent crude oil topped $90 per barrel because of continued attacks between the United States and Iran. It rose 1.9% to $90.92, up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran began.

The rise in oil prices is threatening a reacceleration of inflation, just as it was 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 4.62% 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 rise even with that added pressure.

3M climbed 8.7% 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 jumped 11.6% 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.

They helped offset a drop for Danaher, which slid 13.9% 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 slower than Wall Street expected.

Companies 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.