By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
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.
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.