Wall Street climbs to the cusp of records as oil prices jump
[October 24, 2025] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to the cusp of their records on
Thursday, as oil prices jumped after President Donald Trump announced
“massive” new sanctions on Russia’s crude industry.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% and crept back within 0.2% of its all-time high
set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 144
points, or 0.3%, and finished just below its own record set earlier this
week, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%.
Companies in the oil and gas business led the way, including gains of
1.1% for Exxon Mobil, 3.1% for ConocoPhillips and 3.4% for Diamondback
Energy. They rose with prices for crude, which leaped roughly 5.5% after
Trump announced sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
The hope is to convince Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, to end the
brutal war with Ukraine, and sanctions could constrict the global flow
of oil. The jumps helped oil prices recover some of their sharp recent
losses, taken because of expectations for supplies of crude in
inventories to remain plentiful. Oil prices are still down more than 10%
for the year so far.
Also helping to drive the stock market higher were strong profit reports
from several big U.S. companies, as the reporting season ramps up for
their profits during the summer. The majority are topping Wall Street’s
forecasts, as is usually the case.
Dow jumped 12.9%, and Las Vegas Sands rallied 12.4% after both delivered
stronger earnings than analysts expected. Tesla shook off an early loss
to climb 2.3% after reporting a weaker profit but also stronger revenue
for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
The pressure is on companies broadly to deliver solid growth in profits.
That would counter criticism that their stock prices shot too high
following a 35% romp for the S&P 500 from a low in April.
On the losing end of Wall Street, Molina Healthcare tumbled 17.5% after
its profit for the latest quarter fell well short of analysts’
expectations. CEO Joseph Zubretsky cited a challenging environment for
medical costs, and insurers across the industry have been warning about
rising medical costs throughout the year.
IBM fell 0.9%, despite reporting better profit and revenue than analysts
expected. Wall Street focused instead on weaker-than-expected results
for its Red Hat business, which provides open-source software products.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 39.04 points to 6,738.44. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added 144.20 to 46,734.61, and the Nasdaq composite
climbed 201.40 to 22,941.80.
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Options traders Joseph Arrigo, right, works on the floor of the New
York Stock Exchange, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 In the gold market, prices
strengthened to halt a sharp recent slide. The price for an ounce
climbed 2% to $4,145.60 per ounce.
It had dropped sharply the last two days after setting its latest
all-time high, as momentum suddenly gave out following what’s been a
stunning year. The price of gold has jumped about 57% so far in
2025.
Many of the factors that have sent gold on its monumental rise are
still around, including concerns about the mountains of debt that
the U.S. and other governments worldwide are amassing. The U.S.
government’s gross national debt topped $38 trillion on Wednesday,
and the worry is that a continued acceleration will only worsen
inflation.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.00%
from 3.97% late Wednesday. That was ahead of a report coming on
Friday that will show how much inflation U.S. consumers felt during
September. The report was initially due earlier this month but was
delayed because of the U.S. government’s shutdown.
If the reading ends up benign, it could encourage the Federal
Reserve to keep cutting interest rates in hopes of giving the
slowing job market a boost. It delivered its first cut of the year
last month, but it’s been wary of promising many more because lower
rates can make inflation worse.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across Europe following a more
mixed finish in Asia.
Stocks rose 0.7% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in Shanghai as leaders in
Beijing wrapped up an important Communist Party meeting to set the
agenda for the coming five years. The party said afterward that it
will focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and technology.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4%, and South Korea’s Kospi sank 1% for
two of the world’s larger losses.
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AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.
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