NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks ticked higher Wednesday following strong profit reports from BlackRock and other big companies. The tentative gains came as oil prices swung to their highest levels in a month because of the war with Iran.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% after flipping between modest gains and losses through the day, and it's back within 0.5% of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 150 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6%.
BlackRock helped lead the market with a rise of 6.6% after the company behind some of the most popular investment funds reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than **** ysts expected. CEO Laurence Fink said its iShares funds topped $6 trillion in **** ets under management during the quarter, roughly doubling in three years.
Bank of New York Mellon rose 5.1% after adding to the spate of strong earnings reports from many of the biggest U.S. banks a day earlier. Cintas climbed 4.4% after the provider of office uniforms, restroom supplies and other products likewise delivered a better profit for the latest quarter than **** ysts forecast.
They helped offset a drop for Elevance Health, which fell 8.5% even though it reported stronger profit and revenue than **** ysts expected.