US stocks hang near their record as Wall Street takes a breath following
two big days
[June 26, 2025] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks hung near their all-time high on Wednesday
as financial markets caught a breath following two big days bolstered by
hopes that the Israel-Iran war will not disrupt the global flow of crude
oil.
The S&P 500 barely budged after drifting through a quiet day of trading
and is sitting just 0.8% below its all-time high, which was set in
February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 106 points, or 0.2%,
and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.
In the oil market, which has been the center of much of this week’s
action, crude prices stabilized after plunging by roughly $10 per barrel
in the last two days. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 55 cents to $64.92 per
barrel, though it still remains below where it was before the fighting
between Israel and Iran broke out nearly two weeks ago.
A fragile ceasefire between the two countries appears to be holding, at
least for the moment.
On Wall Street, FedEx fell 3.3% despite reporting stronger profit and
revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It gave a
forecast for profit in the current quarter that fell short of
expectations.
General Mills, the company behind Pillsbury and Progresso soups, lost
5.1% after reporting weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts
expected, though its profit topped forecasts. It also said an underlying
measure of profit could fall by 10% to 15% this upcoming fiscal year.
On the winning side of Wall Street, Bumble jumped 25.1% after the online
dating platform said it would cut about 30% of its workforce, or 240
jobs, to save up to $40 million in annual costs.
QuantumScape rallied 30.9% after announcing a breakthrough in its
process for making solid-state batteries. Solid state battery technology
promises to improve electric vehicle range, decrease charging times and
minimize the risk of battery fires. But the batteries are expensive to
research and difficult to manufacture at a large scale, giving them a
reputation for being a Holy Grail for battery engineers all over the
world.
Companies involved in the cryptocurrency industry, meanwhile, rose as
the price of bitcoin continued to steam ahead with investors willing to
take on more risk. Coinbase Global, the crypto exchange, climbed 3.1% as
bitcoin topped $107,000.
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A Wall Street sign hangs near to the New York Stock Exchange,
Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
 All told, the S&P 500 edged down by
0.02 to 6,092.16 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell
106.59 to 42,982.43, and the Nasdaq composite rose 61.02 to
19,973.55.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady, and the
yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.28% from 4.30% late
Tuesday.
Yields had dropped a day earlier after the chair of the Federal
Reserve said it is waiting for the right moment to resume cutting
interest rates. By lowering rates, the Fed could give the economy a
boost, but it could also offer additional fuel for inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said again on Wednesday that he wants to
wait and see how President Donald Trump’s tariffs affect the economy
and inflation before committing to its next move. In testimony
before a Senate committee, Powell echoed many of his statements from
the day before, when he spoke at the House of Representatives, and
he said, “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait to
learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering
any adjustments to our policy stance.”
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly in Europe after
rising across much of Asia.
Stocks jumped 1.2% in Hong Kong and 1% in Shanghai for two of the
bigger moves.
“The world can now move on to face other difficult choices like
tariffs and things like that,” said Frances Lun, CEO of GEO
Securities in Hong Kong. “So I think the market is well on its way
to rebound and could again reach new levels.”
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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