US stocks climb to the brink of a record

NEW YORK AP The U S stock sector is rising toward the brink of another record The S P was higher in afternoon trading and just below its all-time high which was set in February The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up points or as of p m Eastern time and the Nasdaq composite was higher McCormick the seller of cooking spices helped lead the way and rallied after delivering a better-than-expected profit summary The company also gave a forecast for profit over its full fiscal year that topped analysts expectations including planned efforts to offset increased costs caused by President Donald Trump s tariffs Over the longer term it s been big tool stocks that have led the sector for years and since the S P fell roughly below its record during the spring on worries about tariffs Chip company Nvidia which has been the poster child of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence apparatus added It s the greater part valuable company in the U S stock sphere after rushing higher since the area hit a bottom on April towering over the S P s gain of Another AI darling Super Micro Computer rose to bring its gain since April to more than Micron Machinery which sells computer memory and details storage swung between gains and losses after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected CEO Sanjay Mehrotra explained it s seeing AI-driven memory demand and the company gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that topped analysts expectations Its stock was the bulk in recent months down Wall Street s worries about Trump s tariffs have receded since the president shocked the world in April with stiff proposed levies but they have not disappeared The wait is still on to see how big the tariffs will ultimately be how much they will hurt the financial market and how much they will push up inflation The financial sector so far seems to be holding up OK though slowing and more reports arrived on Thursday bolstering that One revealed that orders for washing machines and other manufactured goods that last at least three years grew by more last month than economists expected A second reported fewer U S workers filed for unemployment benefits last week a feasible signal of fewer layoffs A third analysis announced the U S financial sector shrank by more during the first three months of than earlier estimated But multiple economists say those numbers got distorted by how plenty of U S companies rushed early this year to buy foreign products ahead of tariffs and they re expecting a better performance in upcoming months Following the reports Treasury yields swiveled up and down in the bond area but they ultimately did not move very much The yield on the -year Treasury fell to from late Wednesday The two-year Treasury yield which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do held steady at Analysts mentioned yields may be feeling downward pressure because of a overview from The Wall Street Journal saying Trump could name his nominee to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell unusually early in an attempt to undermine him That could hurt confidence among investors about the Fed s capability to make unpopular decisions when it comes to fighting inflation Powell has been repeating in recent times that the Federal Reserve is waiting to see how tariffs will affect the financial system before deciding when to resume cutting interest rates It has been on pause this year because lower rates can help give inflation more fuel along with giving the market a boost Trump though has been adamant about wanting cuts to rates sooner and has insulted Powell repeatedly Two of his appointees to the Fed have also declared in the last few days that they would consider cutting rates as soon as the Fed s next meeting in about a month Yields fell the dollar weakened and break evens rose all suggesting that a puppet of the White House in the seat of the Chair could be bad for inflation noted Brian Jacobsen chief economist at Annex Wealth Management But Jacobsen disclosed decisions on interest rates would still rest with a committee of Fed representatives not just the chair and other authorities could possibly keep the new leader in check if needed In stock markets abroad indexes were mixed in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia Japan s Nikkei rose and South Korea s Kospi fell for two of the bigger moves In the oil realm which has been the center of much of this week s action crude prices made up a bit more ground after plunging earlier this week A barrel of benchmark U S crude oil rose to though it still remains below where it was when Israel s war with Iran began