Kamal Ghorui
Wall Street moved higher on Friday and edged closer to fresh record highs as strong quarterly earnings from Apple, Estee Lauder and other companies lifted sentiment while a mild retreat in oil prices offered additional support.The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent, extending gains after closing at an all-time high on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 226 points, or 0.5 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7 per cent toward another record as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, AP reported.Apple led the advance, rising 3.3 per cent after the iPhone maker reported stronger-than-expected profit and revenue for the latest quarter.Estee Lauder gained 4.2 per cent after posting better earnings than expected, helped partly by strength in China, and raised some of its financial forecasts.Colgate-Palmolive added 3.1 per cent after also beating estimates, though Chief Executive Noel Wallace said the company expects “volatile macroeconomic conditions and slower category growth to continue in 2026.”The key uncertainty for global markets remained oil prices linked to the Iran war.Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 0.5 per cent to $109.88 a barrel on Friday, though it was still up roughly 11 per cent for the week after sharp gains earlier.Brent prices had climbed on concerns that the Strait of Hormuz could remain closed for a prolonged period, preventing tankers in the Persian Gulf from shipping crude to customers worldwide.In the bond market, Treasury yields remained largely steady as crude prices eased.The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged lower to 4.39 per cent from 4.40 per cent late Thursday.Several global stock markets were closed for the May Day holiday.Among the markets that were open, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 per cent, while London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.6 per cent.
