Stocks rise despite climbing oil prices ~ EconomyLens.com

New York (AFP) – Stock markets rose Tuesday as technology shares rebounded further, while oil prices climbed as Iran targeted US radar and air defense installations in the Gulf. “Traders have been treated to an odd sight today as oil prices rise in tandem with equities and precious metals,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading and investing platform IG. International benchmark Brent crude struck its highest level since mid-June, at $91.99 per barrel, before paring gains.

Wall Street stocks spent the entire day in positive territory, with the S&P 500 finishing up 0.9 percent. The stock market “doesn’t seem as if it wants to go down at all,” said CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall, who pointed to positive results from General Motors and others. “I just think that Wall Street is expecting the earnings surprises to continue to the upside.”

Iran stepped up its attacks in the Middle East on Tuesday, two weeks after its war with the United States resumed, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying they had attacked and stopped two “non-compliant oil tankers” attempting to transit the Hormuz Strait. Tehran has attempted to blockade the strait — through which a fifth of the world’s oil supplies transited before the war — as leverage since the US-Israeli attack that kickstarted the war on February 28.

But President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States plans more attacks, saying, “we’re not finished at all…we’re not leaving right now.” Trump also said he would “take care of” the Houthi rebels if the Iran-backed militant group follows through on its threatened blockade of Saudi ports. “Oil remains the key macro anchor,” Sucden brokers wrote in a research note to clients. “We expect markets to remain headline-driven in the near term.”

But the higher oil prices didn’t weigh on equities trading as it often does, with investors piling back into tech stocks. Tech stocks have in recent months been periodically hit by sharp drops as investors take fright at excessive valuations in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, with chipmakers leading a rout last week. But Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq index advanced for a second straight day, with semiconductor stocks leading the gains.

A recovery in tech shares will face a test with the release of earnings from Tesla and Alphabet in the coming days, followed by Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Amazon next week. “Big Tech earnings now need to prove that AI revenues, margins, and cash flow can justify the scale” of the huge investments in AI infrastructure, noted Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management. Bret Kenwell at eToro said investors now have higher expectations. “They want growth and guidance strong enough to justify elevated valuations,” he said.

Europe’s main stock markets ended the day higher, with London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index reacting positively to the appointment of John Healey as finance minister. Investors were watching British bond yields after new Prime Minister Andy Burnham — taking on stretched public finances — said he would cut taxes on household electricity bills. UK bond yields edged higher while the pound dipped.

– Key figures around 2020 GMT –

New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 52,224.64 (close)

New York – S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 7,509.20 (close)

New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 25,837.21 (close)

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 10,585.91 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 8,363.14 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 25,011.35 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 3.3 percent at 66,232.19 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 25,132.29 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 3,864.37 (close)

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.0 percent at $91.01 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.0 percent at $84.91 per barrel