Financial Markets                      03/17 09:35

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are rising Tuesday, led by airlines still 
seeing customers want to fly despite worries about the economy. That's despite 
another climb for oil prices because of the war with Iran.

   The S&P 500 added 0.7%, coming off its best day since the war began. The Dow 
Jones Industrial Average was up 352 points, or 0.8%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern 
time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.

   It's a break, for now at least, 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 fear in financial markets has been that a long-term disruption to 
the global flow of oil because of the war could send prices so high for so long 
that it damages the global economy.

   On Tuesday, the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.8% to 
$95.18. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 1.4% to $101.63. But 
they pared even bigger gains from earlier in the morning, and they're still 
below where oil prices 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.

   Of course, it's also having to pay higher prices for jet fuel because of the 
spike in oil prices. But it said the strong demand for flights could 
nevertheless allow it to report profit for the start of 2026 that's in line 
with its earlier forecast.

   Delta's stock flew 5% higher, and it helped other airline stocks trim their 
own sharp losses for the year so far. United Airlines climbed 2.8%, and 
Southwest Airlines rose 3.4%.

   American Airlines gained 3.8% after saying it's also likely to report 
stronger growth in revenue for the start of this year than it had forecast 
earlier.

   Other areas of the market whose profits are closely tied to the economy's 
strength were likewise rising. JPMorgan Chase climbed 1.2% and was one of the 
strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

   Some beaten-down stocks in the financial industry recovered losses from 
earlier in the year, including companies swept up in worries about whether 
software businesses and other industries potentially under threat will pay back 
all their loans. Blue Owl Capital gained 5%, and Ares Management rose 5.1%.

   Another big winner was Uber Technologies, which rose 5.7% 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.

   The U.S. stock market has a track record of bouncing back relatively quickly 
from military conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, as long as oil prices 
don't stay too high for too long. Many professional investors are expecting 
that to be the case again, which has helped keep U.S. stock prices near their 
record levels.

   For all its dramatic swings over the last couple weeks, including several 
that struck hour to hour, the S&P 500 is only 3.3% below its all-time high.

   That's even as Treasury yields have climbed on expectations that higher oil 
prices will keep the Federal Reserve from resuming its cuts to interest rates 
for a while. Higher yields push downward on prices for stocks and all kinds of 
investments.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.20% from 4.23% late Monday, but 
it remains well above the 3.97% level it was at before the war with Iran began.

   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 Donald Trump has been calling for them angrily. 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.

   In stock markets abroad, European indexes rose following a mixed finish in 
Asia. Indexes rose 1% in London and fell 0.9% in Shanghai for two of the 
world's bigger moves.

   ___

   AP Writers Matt Ott, Elaine Kurtenbach and Rod McGuirk contributed.

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