NEW YORK — More jumps for oil prices and hints that some Federal Reserve officials don’t want to cut interest rates any time soon sent tremors through the U.S. bond market on Wednesday.
But the U.S. stock market remained resilient despite that and hung around its record heights thanks to Visa and other companies reporting fatter profits than analysts expected.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 edged down by 0.1%, a day after slipping from its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 286 points, or 0.6%, with roughly a half hour to go in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
The action was more dramatic in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in July jumped 5.8% to settle at $110.44 per barrel. That’s where most of the trading is happening in the Brent market, and it got as high as $111.50 earlier in the day.
The highest price since the war with Iran began is $119.50 for the most actively traded Brent contract, reached last month.
On Wednesday, the price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in June, which is getting less trading action than July’s contract, briefly breached that mark and got as high as $119.76.
Oil prices have been spurting higher this week as President Trump appears willing to maintain the U.S. blockade of Iranian ships, which is preventing the country from making money by selling oil. Iran, in turn, is keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed to other oil tankers hoping to carry crude to customers worldwide as long as the blockade continues.
High oil prices helped push the Federal Reserve to announce Wednesday that it’s still holding off on cutting interest rates. While lower rates could give the economy a boost, they also risk worsening inflation.
Three Fed officials also said they did not want to include anything suggesting more cuts may be coming in the central bank’s statement announcing the decision.
Treasury yields climbed in the bond market immediately afterward, adding to gains from earlier in the day due to rising oil prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.40% from 4.36% late Tuesday.
The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, climbed more. It jumped to 3.93% from 3.84%, which is a notable move for the bond market.
Traders are still largely expecting the Fed to hold rates steady through the end of this year, according to data from CME Group. But they nearly eliminated bets for a cut to rates in 2026 in favor of a small chance for a hike.
Still, the U.S. stock market held relatively steady near its records as more companies joined the procession reporting stronger profit growth for the start of 2026 than analysts expected.
Visa jumped 8.3% after delivering stronger results than analysts expected, and CEO Ryan McInerney said consumer spending remained resilient in the quarter. Starbucks climbed 8.6% after likewise reporting better results than expected, while saying customers spent more at each visit, particularly at its North American stores.
But those not meeting expectations have gotten punished. GE Healthcare Technologies dropped 13.3% after falling short of analysts’ forecasts. Robinhood Markets tumbled 13.8% after reporting growth in profit that was not as strong as analysts expected.
Booking Holdings swung between losses and gains after the online travel company said the war with Iran is affecting its results and kept some potential customers from booking rooms during the latest quarter.
The company behind Booking.com, Priceline and other brands is expecting the conflict to continue affecting its business through the end of June. It could affect travel not only in the Middle East but also in major transit corridors, such as between Europe and Asia.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.7% for one of the world’s strongest moves, while London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.2%.
Choe writes for the Associated Press. AP Business Writer Chan Ho-him contributed to this report.