NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting on Friday in a quiet return to trading following the Juneteenth holiday.
The S&P 500 was down 0.2% in midday trading after flipping between modest gains and losses during the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 45 points, or 0.1%, as of 11 am. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% lower.
Treasury yields were holding relatively steady in the bond market after President Donald Trump said he will decide within two weeks whether the U.S. military will get directly involved in Israel’s fighting with Iran. The window offers the possibility of a negotiated settlement over Iran’s nuclear program that could avoid increased fighting.
The war has sent oil prices yo-yoing because of rising and ebbing fears that it could disrupt the global flow of crude. Iran is a major producer of oil and also sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s crude passes.
“We’re all waiting on pins and needles to see what happens with the Israel-Iran situation,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “These types of situations can stress markets, but often the best way to manage that stress is to just ride through it and not try to trade it.”
On Wall Street, Kroger rose 8.3% after the grocer reported a better profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street had forecast. It also raised its forecast for an underlying measure of revenue for the full year. Chief Financial Officer David Kennerley said it’s seeing positive momentum, but it’s still seeing an uncertain overall economic environment.
CarMax climbed 6% after the auto dealer reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company said it sold nearly 6% more used autos during the quarter than it did a year earlier.
On the losing end of Wall Street was Smith & Wesson Brands, the maker of guns. It tumbled 19.5% after reporting profit and revenue for the latest quarter that fell just shy of analysts’ expectations.
Chief Financial Officer Deana McPherson said “persistent inflation, high interest rates, and uncertainty caused by tariff concerns” have been hurting sales for firearms, and the company expects demand in its upcoming fiscal year to be similar to this past year’s, depending on how inflation and Trump’s tariffs play out.
A spate of companies has been adjusting or even withdrawing their financial forecasts for the year because of all the uncertainty that tariffs are creating for their customers and for their suppliers. Everyone is waiting to see how big the tariffs will ultimately be.
It’s not just corporate America. The Federal Reserve has been keeping its main interest rate on hold this year, with its latest such decision coming earlier this week, because it’s waiting to see exactly by how much tariffs will grind down on the economy and push up inflation.
In the bond market, Treasury yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.41% from 4.38% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, edged down to 3.93% from 3.94%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.2% after Japan reported that its core inflation rate, excluding volatile food prices, rose to 3.7% in May, adding to challenges for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government and the central bank.
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AP Writer Teresa Cerojano contributed.
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