US stock market today: Wall Street stocks moved higher in early trading on Wednesday, extending the record-setting momentum from the previous session, while oil prices remained largely stable.The S&P 500 advanced 0.5%. By 9:53 a.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 487 points, or 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3%.Both the S&P 500 and the Dow closed at record highs on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq remained within 2% of its all-time peak. The major US indices have posted strong gains so far this week, giving August a solid start, according to an AP report.Markets have continued to rally as companies near the end of the latest earnings season with robust financial performance. About three-fourths of the companies in the S&P 500 have already reported quarterly results, and Wall Street expects overall profit growth of around 50% once the reporting season concludes.The Walt Disney Company was among the latest firms to report earnings, with its shares rising 3.2% after comfortably surpassing analysts’ profit estimates. The strong performance was supported by $1 billion in box office collections from “Toy Story 5” and healthy revenue from its theme park businessBooking Holdings also posted strong gains, climbing 5.5% after reporting higher quarterly profit and revenue, driven by continued strength in travel demand.SpaceX shares fell 10.7%, even after the company reported a smaller quarterly loss than analysts had expected in its first earnings release since becoming a publicly listed company late Tuesday. However, the stock of semiconductor leader Nvidia climbed 3.9% after SpaceX announced that it would exclusively use Nvidia’s chips to power its artificial intelligence systems.Robust corporate earnings and optimism about future profit growth have continued to support the stock market despite lingering concerns over elevated inflation.Investors also remained focused on developments in the US-Iran conflict, which continues to cloud market sentiment. President Donald Trump said an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached as early as Wednesday. However, the five-month-old conflict has seen repeated setbacks and renewed tensions, disrupting global oil supplies and creating volatility in energy markets.Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, edged up 0.1% to $79.41 per barrel.The bond market was relatively stable, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note inching up to 4.64% from 4.63% at Tuesday’s close.Asian equity markets ended higher, led by gains of more than 3% in Tokyo and Seoul as semiconductor and other AI-related stocks advanced. European markets also traded in positive territory.
