Stocks Hold Steady as Oil Prices Resume Rising

Oil prices resumed their rise on Tuesday because of the war with Iran, but US stocks held steadier this time around.

• The S&P 500 rose 16.71 points, or 0.2%, to 6,716.09, adding to its gain from the day before, which was its best since the war began.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46.85 points, or 0.1%, to 46,993.26.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 105.35 points, or 0.5%, to 22,479.53.

It's a break from the usual playbook since the start of the war, where stock prices have tended to go in the opposite direction of oil prices, the AP reports. The fear in financial markets has been that a long-term disruption to the global flow of oil could send prices so high for so long that it damages the global economy.

On Tuesday, the price for a barrel of benchmark US crude rose 1.8% to $95.20. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 2.4% to $102.58. But they pared even bigger gains from earlier in the morning, and they're still below where they were at the end of last week. Delta Air Lines also offered an encouraging signal about the strength of the economy after raising its forecast for revenue for the first three months of 2026. It said it's seen demand to fly accelerate into March from both businesses and households. And that looks to be enough to offset higher prices for jet fuel because of the spike in oil prices. Delta said it still expects to report a profit for the start of 2026 that's in line with its earlier forecast.

• Delta's stock flew 6.6% higher, and it helped other airline stocks trim their own sharp losses for the year so far. United Airlines climbed 3.2%, and Southwest Airlines rose 2.2%. American Airlines gained 3.5% after saying it's also likely to report stronger revenue growth for the start of this year than it had forecast earlier.

Another big winner was Uber Technologies, which drove 4.2% higher after announcing an expansion of its partnership with Nvidia. They plan to launch a fleet of autonomous vehicles using Nvidia's technology, beginning with Los Angeles and San Francisco in the first half of next year. Some beaten-down stocks in the financial industry, meanwhile, recovered losses from earlier in the year. That includes several that got swept up in worries about whether software businesses and others potentially under threat by AI-powered competitors will pay back all their loans. Blue Owl Capital gained 4.5%, and Ares Management rose 6.6%.

• They helped offset a 3.2% drop for Cencora after the pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution services company said it's looking for a new chief financial officer. Its current CFO, James Cleary, will retire at the end of June.

The Fed will make its next announcement on interest rates Wednesday afternoon, and traders see virtually no chance of a cut, according to data from CME Group. Cuts to interest rates by the Fed would give the economy and job market a boost, and President Trump has angrily been calling for them. But reductions would also worsen inflation. In Australia, the central bank is actually raising interest rates. Citing higher fuel prices, the Reserve Bank of Australia made its first hike since November 2023.