NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Stocks of computer chip companies and other winners of the boom are Wednesday and weighing on Wall Street. Oil prices, meanwhile, rose another 2% as fighting continues in .
The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, even though most of the stocks within it rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 89 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower.
AI stocks have been at the center of Wall Street鈥檚 swings . After soaring in the euphoria around the , these stocks have been veering up and down on worries that their prices shot too high. Investors are also wondering if spending on AI may fall off if it does not produce as much benefit as promised.
Micron Technology fell 1.6%. It had jumped 14.4% in the first two days of this week to reclaim nearly all its 13.3% plunge from the week before. It鈥檚 still up nearly 235% for the year so far.
A big test is scheduled to arrive shortly after the U.S. stock market closes for the day. That鈥檚 when Alphabet is scheduled to report its latest earnings results. The parent company of Google is one of the world鈥檚 biggest spenders on AI, and it could give indications about whether all the investment has been translating into better profits and productivity.
Most big U.S. companies have so far been reporting strong profits for the spring. Expectations are high for them, and they will need to at least match them after their prices have already run toward records on anticipation for them.
AT&T climbed 4.4% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its revenue fell short. CEO John Stankey also said the telecom is accelerating plans to send roughly $10 billion to its shareholders this year through the buybacks of its stock.
Philip Morris International rose 4.6% after the seller of cigarettes and smokeless products reported stronger profit and revenue than expected.
Super Micro Computer soared 15.6% after the maker of AI servers said it expects to report stronger profit margins for the latest quarter than it had earlier forecast. It, though, also said that revenue will likely come in at the low end of its forecasted range of $11 billion to $12.5 billion.
GE Vernova, meanwhile, sank 6% after its profit for the latest quarter was weaker than analysts expected.
Stocks broadly also felt pressure from continuing climbs for oil prices, which raise costs for most businesses and eat at their profits.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.6% to $93.40. That鈥檚 up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran.
Earlier Wednesday morning, it briefly topped $95 per barrel to touch its highest price in nearly six weeks.
Rising oil prices are threatening a reacceleration of , just as increases for prices were slowing more than economists expected. That in turn could push and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would for stocks and other investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.63%, where it was late Tuesday. That鈥檚 up sharply from its 3.97% before the war with Iran began, and it’s already helped bring long-term U.S. mortgage rates to their .
Oil prices have climbed as fighting across the Middle East keeps oil tankers from using the to exit the Persian Gulf and delivering to customers. Normally, a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded in peacetime passes through the narrow strait.
The auto club AAA said Wednesday that the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. jumped again overnight to $4.06. That鈥檚 still below highs of around $4.56 per gallon in May, but it had been below $3 before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed in Europe following a mixed session in Asia.
London鈥檚 FTSE 100 rose 1.6%, while Hong Kong鈥檚 Hang Seng fell 1% for two of the world鈥檚 bigger moves.
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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
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