NEW YORK — Most U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, but declines in Oracle shares are being held back by Wall Street as investors question whether big spending on artificial intelligence technology will pay off.
WITH&The P500 fell 0.4% in early trading and was slightly off the all-time high set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 233 points, or 0.5%, as of 9:35 a.m. ET, while the Nasdaq was down 0.7%.
Oracle shares were among the market's heaviest performers, down 14.5% even though the company reported better earnings for its latest quarter than analysts had expected. Revenue growth of 14% was slightly below expectations.
Doubts also remain about whether all of Oracle's spending on artificial intelligence technology will pay off in increased profits and productivity, as proponents promise. Analysts said they were surprised by how much Oracle could spend on AI investments this fiscal year, and questions continue to remain about how the company will pay for it.
Such doubts weigh heavily AI industry Overall, even as many billions of dollars continue to flow. They helped steer the broad U.S. stock market through wild and frightening swings last month.
Shares of Nvidia, the chip company that has become a symbol of the artificial intelligence boom and earns about $20 billion every month, fell 2.8% on Thursday. This was the heaviest weight on the S.&P 500.
Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said he will continue to buy chips from Nvidia, but now has a “chip neutrality” policy in which he will use “whatever chips our customers want to buy.” There will be many changes in AI technology over the next few years, and we must remain flexible in response to these changes.”
Still, most U.S. stocks rose, thanks in part to lower Treasury yields in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.10% from 4.13% on Wednesday and from 4.18% on Tuesday.
Lower Treasury yields mean U.S. government bonds pay less interest, which could prompt investors to pay higher prices for stocks and other investments.
Yields fell after a report said the number of U.S. workers claiming unemployment benefits jumped last week, more than economists expected. This is a potential sign of rising layoffs.
A day earlier, yields fell after The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate for the third time this year and indicated there could be another decline in 2026. Wall Street likes lower interest rates because they can stimulate the economy and boost investment prices, even if they potentially worsen inflation.
Walt Disney Co. was among the market growth leaders. It rose 2.1% after OpenAI announced a three-year deal that will allow it to use more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters to create short social videos on demand from users. Disney is also investing $1 billion in OpenAI.
Shares of Oxford Industries fell 15.1% on Wall Street after the company behind Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer said its customers were looking for bargains and were “very value-oriented.” CEO Tom Chubb said the start of the holiday shopping season was weaker than the company expected and cut its full-year revenue forecast.
Meanwhile, Vera Bradley shares fell 26% after reporting a larger-than-expected loss.
On foreign stock markets, indices in Europe rose after falling in much of Asia.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9% as shares of SoftBank Group Corp., a major investor in artificial intelligence, fell sharply.
___
AP writers Teresa Serohano and Matt Ott contributed.
