The U.S. stock market is recovering Wednesday after pressure eased on Wall Street from the bond market and oil prices gave up some of their big gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7 per cent toward its first gain in four days and pulled closer to its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 280 points, or 0.6 per cent, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was one per cent higher.
The company behind TJ Maxx, Marshalls and other stores helped lead the way and climbed 5.7 per cent after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Ernie Herrman also said the current quarter is off to a good start, and TJX raised its forecasts for revenue and profit this year.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers jumped 15.6 per cent, and Cava Group rallied 5.8 per cent following their own better-than-expected profit reports. Such results raise hopes that households can keep spending and driving the economy, even though they’re contending with high gasoline prices and widespread discouragement about economic conditions.
Most big U.S. companies have likewise reported better profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected, which has helped stocks run to records. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.
The other main lever that helps set stock prices, interest rates, also gave some relief on Wednesday after Treasury yields eased.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.63 per cent from 4.67 per cent late Tuesday and slowed what had been a rapid ascent from less than four per cent before the war with Iran. Yields have been climbing in bond markets worldwide on worries about the high oil prices caused by the war, among other factors. That in turn has been slowing economies and weighing on prices for stocks, bitcoin and all kinds of other investments.
Higher yields can drive up rates for mortgages and loans going to companies to build artificial-intelligence data centers, which have been a big source of growth for the economy.
Yields eased Wednesday as oil prices pulled back some more. The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 4.3 per cent to US$106.49, though it remains well above its roughly US$70 level from before the war.
A report showing less bad inflation in the United Kingdom than economists expected also helped to keep yields calmer worldwide.
The main event for the market is set for after trading ends for the day. That’s when Nvidia will report its latest results. The chip company has routinely blown past analysts’ profit expectations each quarter, and how it does this time around could determine whether AI stocks and the larger U.S. market can maintain their rally.
Nvidia rose two per cent and was the single strongest force lifting the S&P 500 because of its immense size. Other AI winners also helped lead the market, including gains of 7.4 per cent for Advanced Micro Devices and 8.4 per cent for Intel.
On the losing side of Wall Street was Target, which fell six per cent even though the retailer reported better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. A new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, is trying to turn around the company and boost its revenue.
Expectations may have been even higher for the company’s performance after Target’s stock came into the day with a gain of more than 30 per cent for the year so far, quadruple the S&P 500’s gain.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following weaker finishes across Asia. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2 per cent as the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond remained near its highest level since 1997.
Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott, The Associated Press
