Financial Markets                      05/14 09:35

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. stock market is rising toward more records 
Thursday after Cisco Systems and others joined the parade of U.S. companies 
reporting fatter profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected.

   The S&P 500 added 0.3% to its all-time high set the day before. The Dow 
Jones Industrial Average climbed 290 points, or 0.6%, and could finish a day 
above the 50,000 level for the first time since before the war with Iran began. 
The Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher and adding to its own record, as of 9:35 
a.m. Eastern time.

   Cisco Systems helped lead the market after jumping 16.9%. The tech giant 
reported better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts 
expected, and CEO Chuck Robbins said it saw "very strong, broad-based demand 
for our products." Big Tech behemoths in particular are pouring cash into 
artificial-intelligence technology.

   Also rallying due to better-than-expected profit reports were StubHub 
Holdings, up 15.1%, and Fossil Group, up 9.8%,. Both sell products that aren't 
day-to-day essentials, such as concert tickets and watches. Strong results from 
them could be an indicator that customers are still willing to spend despite 
sour readings on consumer confidence.

   Whether consumers will keep spending is a big question for Wall Street, as 
pressures rise on U.S. households because of high oil prices and inflation 
created by the Iran war. A report released Thursday said that shoppers overall 
spent less at U.S. retailers last month than economists expected. But the 
deceleration after factoring out gasoline and automobile sales wasn't quite as 
bad as economists thought it would be.

   A separate report, meanwhile, said more U.S. workers filed for unemployment 
benefits last week, which could be an indication of more layoffs.

   Treasury yields zigzagged in the bond market following the reports, but they 
largely remained lower for the day. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 
4.44% from 4.46% late Wednesday.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a mixed finish in 
Asia.

   Stocks were nearly flat in Hong Kong and down 1.5% in Shanghai as Chinese 
leader Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing.

   Some investors hope Trump could encourage Xi to use China's close economic 
ties with Iran to get it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The strait's closure 
because of the war has kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf instead of 
delivering crude to customers worldwide.

   The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 
0.7% to $104.86 Thursday, but it remains well above its price of roughly $70 
from before the war.

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   AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

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