Financial Markets                      08/06 15:32

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks edged further away from their recent records on 
Thursday as Wall Street faced pressure from rising oil prices and mixed company 
earnings.

   Wall Street opened the week soaring higher and notching records, but has 
calmed over the last two days. Markets are dealing with uncertainties over the 
ongoing U.S. war with Iran and its impact on inflation. Companies from a 
variety of sectors reported their latest financial results, adding to an 
already busy round of corporate earnings.

   The S&P 500 fell 13.59 points, or 0.2%, to 7,709.96. It pulled further away 
from its record set on Tuesday, though the index is still solidly on track to 
notch weekly gains.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 464.02 points, or 0.9%, to 53,885.10. 
The Nasdaq composite fell 15.09 points, or 0.1%, to 26,348.35.

   Both the Dow and Nasdaq are also heading into Friday on track for solid 
weekly gains.

   "August is off to an extremely strong start, but there is still plenty of 
August left to go, and August is typically a volatile month for stocks," said 
Clark Bellin, president and chief investment officer at Bellwether Wealth, in a 
research note.

   Warner Bros. Discovery rose 1.7% after reporting earnings that came in ahead 
of what investors were expecting. Molson Coors rose 1.3% after also reporting 
encouraging financial results.

   On the losing end, Honeywell Aerospace fell 23.2% after turning in results 
that fell well short of forecasts. AppLovin slumped 19.7% after the digital ad 
company reported mixed financial results for its most recent quarter.

   Strong overall profits from companies has helped allay concerns on Wall 
Street about the market being overpriced. Roughly 85% of companies in the S&P 
500 have reported their results and overall earnings growth for the period is 
shaping up to be the strongest since 2021.

   Outside of earnings, SpaceX rose 6.1%. More than 911 million SpaceX shares 
held by early investors and employees became eligible for sale on Thursday as a 
lockup period for the stock expired. That is more than double the shares that 
were initially offered to the public for sale during the initial public 
offering for Elon Musk's company. SpaceX jumped as high as $225 a share 
following its market debut in June, but has since slumped below its initial 
$135 offering price. The stock is currently trading around $115.

   Oil prices gained ground as uncertainty remains over the U.S. war with Iran 
that has stifled the global flow of oil. The price of Brent crude, the 
international standard, rose 3.8% to $82.49.

   Iran has said that it is close to a deal with Oman for reopening the Strait 
of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has also previously said a deal is close, but 
the conflict has had many starts and stops over the last five months.

   A fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas once passed through the 
Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices surged as high as $113 during the conflict and 
higher prices have added more heat to inflation by raising the price of 
gasoline and raising costs for shipping.

   The rate of inflation is stuck above 3% and higher costs have been squeezing 
businesses and households, while threatening to crimp broader economic growth. 
The U.S. economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace during the second quarter. 
Households are still spending and the jobs market remains resilient, but 
worries linger for both areas of the economy.

   Higher gas prices and added costs for shipping goods could prompt households 
to shift more spending toward necessities. That could hurt businesses focusing 
on nonessential items and services for many people, such as travel and 
entertainment.

   Employment remains strong, but growth has been easing. A weekly report on 
Thursday showed that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits 
rose last week, though layoffs remain in the historically healthy range of the 
past few years. Employers pulled back on hiring in June, adding only 57,000 
jobs. The latest monthly jobs report, for July, will be released on Friday.

   Worries about inflation and the jobs market have prompted the Federal 
Reserve to hold its benchmark interest rate steady. Stubborn inflation, though, 
is nudging the central bank toward raising interest rates before the end of the 
year in order to help tame inflation. Raising rates could also slow economic 
growth while weighing down prices for stocks and other investments.

   Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury 
rose to 4.67% from 4.63% late Wednesday.

   European markets mostly rose.

   ___

   Associated Press writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Hyung-jin Kim contributed to 
this report.

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