Financial Markets                      06/30 15:31

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks rose Tuesday and trimmed their losses in what 
had been a rocky June.

   The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, though it still fell to its first losing month 
following two fabulous ones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 136 points, 
or 0.3%, to its record, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.5%.

   The main reason for the past month's weakness was a fall to Earth for stocks 
in the artificial-intelligence industry. After soaring to tremendous heights in 
the frenzy around AI, such stocks came under pressure because of worries that 
they shot too high. That's a big deal for all investors because AI stocks have 
grown into some of Wall Street's largest and most influential, pulling indexes 
behind them.

   AI stocks were firmer Tuesday, and Nvidia was the strongest force lifting 
the S&P 500 after rising 2.6% and trimming its loss for the month. That was 
even though the majority of stocks within the index fell Tuesday.

   Microsoft, which is investing heavily in AI, rose 1.2% to cut its loss for 
the month to 17.2%. Oracle, though, slipped 0.8% to widen its drop for June to 
35.1%. It's another company contending with concerns that AI may not yield 
enough productivity and profits to make all the big spending worth it.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 58.93 points to 7,499.36. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average added 136.46 to 52,319.20, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 
393.58 to 26,213.72.

   Outside of AI, the economy seems to be rumbling along, even though U.S. 
households are still feeling sour about it. A report released in the morning 
said that U.S. employers were advertising many more job openings at the end of 
May than economists expected, the latest signal that the job market remains 
resilient.

   But a second report said that confidence among U.S. consumers improved by 
less than economists expected. More Americans are saying it's hard to get a 
job, according to a survey by the Conference Board, even with data suggesting 
continued hiring.

   Tuesday's relatively quiet trading came as companies closed their books for 
the quarter running from April through June. Investors want to see strong 
growth in profits to justify the big gains stocks made early in the quarter. 
Despite June's drop, the S&P 500 still recorded its best quarter since six 
years ago, when stocks rocketed out of the crash caused by the COVID pandemic.

   Concentrix tumbled 11.2% after the technology company reported profit and 
revenue for the latest quarter that were just shy of analysts' expectations.

   In the oil market, prices eased after two U.S. envoys arrived in Qatar for 
talks with mediators about the implementation of an initial deal to end the war 
in Iran. The Americans will not be having direct negotiations with Iranian 
diplomats while in Doha.

   The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, 
erased an early, modest rise and fell 1.3% to $72.95. The hope is that an end 
to the war will restore full access to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing oil 
tankers to move more crude and lower its price.

   Expensive oil has already sent inflation jumping around the world, which in 
turn has raised worries that the Federal Reserve and other central banks may 
have to raise interest rates. Higher rates would keep a lid on inflation, but 
they would also slow economic growth and hurt prices for investments.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.44% from 4.38% late Monday.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

   Germany's DAX returned 1.5%, and South Korea's Kospi climbed 1% for two of 
the world's bigger gains.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% as the value of the Japanese yen dropped near 
its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in 40 years.

   U.S. government bonds are paying much higher yields than their Japanese 
counterparts, and the possibility of rate hikes by the Fed is putting more 
pressure on the yen. Speculation is rising that Japan's government may try to 
prop up the yen's value, but Japan's finance minister said only that the 
government was ready to "respond appropriately whenever necessary."

   ___

   AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this 
report.

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