Stocks and oil prices drift as global markets continue to calm

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks and oil prices are drifting toward a quiet finish of the week Friday following their earlier fireworks on worries about how the war with Iran will affect the global flow of crude.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and was on track to close out a fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 143 points, or 0.3%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

Oil prices eased following earlier fluctuations as a series of unclaimed airstrikes hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, slipped 0.5% to $75.92.

That’s above its $72 price from the start of the week, but it’s still well below its wartime peak of nearly $120. The worry is that continued fighting could block oil tankers from the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the delivery of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

President Donald Trump said on his social-media platform that he agreed to continue talks with Iran but also that the United States told it “in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

With the wait ongoing for what will happen next with the strait, the focus on Wall Street is swinging toward the upcoming reporting season for companies’ profits during the spring.

Delta Air Lines said it was able to absorb higher fuel prices from April through June because of strong demand from customers to fly, including a wide range of corporate travelers. Its profit and revenue topped analysts’ expectations, and it gave a forecasted range for profit in the summer whose midpoint was above analysts’ expectations.

Delta’s stock fell 2.3%, though, after coming into the day with a strong 28.2% rise for the year so far.

Companies across industries will need to produce big growth in profits to justify the big moves for their stock prices, which are broadly near records. Next week will feature earnings reports from many of the biggest U.S. banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo on Tuesday alone.

Later in the day on Friday, shares of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix that trade in the United States are set to make their debut on the Nasdaq. The tech giant is raising roughly $26.5 billion through its sale of American depositary shares.

Its stock in Seoul has surged 634% over the last year thanks to euphoria around artificial-intelligence technology. The boom has created real profits thanks to surging demand for computer memory. But it’s also raised worries that AI stock prices have shot too high and that all the world’s spending on chips and data centers won’t be able to produce enough productivity and profit growth to make it worth it.

On Wall Street, Circle Internet Group rose 5.8%. The company behind the USDC cryptocurrency, which is supposed to keep the value of $1, said it won U.S. regulatory approval to establish a bank. It will operate under the name Circle National Trust, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said the move “marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.”

WD-40's stock jumped 12.3% after reporting much stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady as oil prices drifted. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.55% from 4.54% late Thursday.

High yields have been shaking financial markets worldwide. They've climbed on worries about expensive oil and high inflation, which could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.5%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% for two of the world’s bigger moves. Stocks fell 1% in Shanghai.

___