Financial Markets                      05/28 09:34

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices are clawing back some of their sharp drops from 
earlier in the week on Thursday, but U.S. stocks are remaining near their 
records as companies like Dollar Tree, Snowflake and Hormel Foods keep piling 
up profits.

   The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% from its all-time high set the day before. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 219 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. 
Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower after both indexes also 
set records the day before.

   Stocks appear to be less beholden to swings in the oil market, where prices 
climbed Thursday following the latest threat to the ceasefire in the United 
States' war with Iran. U.S. Central Command said Kuwait had intercepted 
missiles launched by Iran late Wednesday night, following earlier "defensive" 
strikes by the U.S. military on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in 
southern Iran.

   The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil climbed 2% to $96.13. That helped 
send stocks of companies with big fuel bills lower, a day after they had 
bounced on hopes that the United States and Iran could reach a deal to reopen 
the Strait of Hormuz and get oil flowing again from the Persian Gulf to 
customers worldwide.

   Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell 1%, and Delta Air Lines sank 1.1%.

   Even with all the worries about expensive oil and high inflation caused by 
the war with Iran, the U.S. stock market has run to records largely because 
companies keep making even bigger piles of profits. They've been reporting 
stronger results for the first three months of 2026 than analysts expected, and 
stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.

   Dollar Tree's stock soared 15% after it became the latest to report fatter 
profit than analysts expected. CEO Mike Creedon said improved store conditions 
helped the retailer make more profit off each $1 in sales during the latest 
quarter, even as tariffs added to its costs. The company also gave a forecast 
for profit over the full year that topped analysts' expectations.

   Kohl's rallied 21.3% after the retailer reported better results for the 
latest quarter than analysts had feared, while Hormel Foods climbed 8.1% after 
a strong performance for its Jennie-O ground turkey and exports of its Spam 
luncheon meat helped it report a better profit than analysts expected.

   Snowflake rose 33.3% after saying artificial intelligence continues to be a 
strong driver of its business, and profit and revenue for the latest quarter 
exceeded expectations.

   Salesforce, meanwhile, fell 2% even though it also reported a better profit 
for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock has been under 
pressure in part because of worries that AI-powered rivals could ultimately 
steal away its business, even as Salesforce touts its own AI offerings.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields were mixed after a report said the 
measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve likes to use accelerated last 
month but was roughly within economists' expectations.

   It also showed how U.S. households are less able to save money, with the 
personal savings rate down to a four-year low of 2.6%, "pointing up the 
financial pressure on lower- and middle-income families," according to Gary 
Schlossberg, global strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.48%, where it was late Wednesday, 
but only after it gave up an earlier gain.

   High yields in bond markets worldwide recently have threatened to slow 
economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. 
High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its 
most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies' 
borrowing to build the AI data centers that have supported the U.S. economy's 
growth recently.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped across much of Europe and Asia. Hong 
Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.3% for one of the world's larger losses.

   ___

   AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

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