NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The U.S. stock market is holding near Thursday as Wall Street waits for more clues about what will happen in before making its next big move.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in January for its 10th gain in 11 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 110 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was edging 0.1% higher.
Stocks have leaped more than 10% since hitting a low in late March, driven by hopes for an end to the war or something that could avert a worst-case scenario for the global economy. Now, the wait is on to see if such hopes were prescient or just wishful thinking.
Pakistan鈥檚 army chief is set to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after .
Oil prices ticked higher, showing that caution still remains in financial markets. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 1.4% to $96.24. It鈥檚 gone from roughly $70 before the war to as high as $119 at times on uncertainty about how long the war will keep oil stuck in the Persian Gulf area and away from customers.
鈥淭he key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and Iran break down,鈥� ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote Thursday. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 an unrealistic scenario, given that US and Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart.鈥�
In the meantime, big U.S. companies are continuing to deliver growth in profits for the start of 2026 that鈥檚 even better than analysts expected. Such growth is the lifeblood of the stock market, whose level tends to follow the track of corporate profits over the long term.
Marsh & McLennan rose 2.2%, and Prologis climbed 3.6% after both delivered stronger results than expected.
than expected, but its stock rose a more modest 0.3%. Customers bought more snacks during the quarter, after the company said in February it would , Cheetos and Tostitos chips to win back people frustrated by high prices.
Technology stocks also broadly got some support after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an industry heavyweight, reported stronger revenue and profit for the start of 2026 than analysts expected. TSMC鈥檚 Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company expects strong demand to continue into the spring.
On the losing end of Wall Street was Abbott, which fell 4.1% even though it reported slightly better results than analysts expected. The health care company cut its forecast for profit over the full year, mostly because of its purchase of cancer-screening company Exact Sciences.
slumped 26.1%, but that gave back only a portion of its 582% surge from the day before. The company formerly known for sneakers is pivoting to the artificial-intelligence industry and hopes to rent out high-powered chips as a service.
In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed across much of Europe and Asia. Japan鈥檚 Nikkei 225 jumped 2.4%, South Korea鈥檚 Kospi rallied 2.2% and Hong Kong鈥檚 Hang Seng rose 1.7% for some of the world鈥檚 larger moves.
China on Thursday 5% economic growth for the January-March quarter, an acceleration from the previous quarter. While economists say China has largely shrugged off the initial impacts of the Iran war, some are warning its massive export engine could be hit more significantly in the coming months on slower global economic growth.
In the bond market Treasury yields eased a bit after a report showed last week.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.26% from 4.29% late Wednesday.
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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
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