GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks gain as investors take heart from upbeat earnings, dip in oil

Tue, 05th May 2026 14:47

* US, Iran launch attacks in the Gulf

* Oil prices ease but still ⁠over $100/barrel

* Wall Street stocks gain

* Traders on watch for yen intervention

May 5 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Tuesday, taking some heart from a series of robust earnings, while simmering hostilities between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait ‌of Hormuz kept the oil price well above $100 a barrel. Traders also had their eyes on the yen after the Japanese currency briefly jumped in the previous session, stoking speculation of ⁠another round of intervention from Tokyo.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added ⁠about 0.2%, the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9%.

In Europe, the STOXX 600 rose 0.5%, lifted by brewer Anheuser-Busch, which beat forecasts with first-quarter results, and by shares in Italian lender Unicredit , which reported record quarterly profits. The U.S. and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf on Monday as they wrestled for control over the Strait of Hormuz with duelling maritime ‌blockades, not long after U.S. President Donald Trump launched a new effort to get stranded tankers and other ships through the vital energy-trade chokepoint. Maersk said the Alliance Fairfax, a U.S.-flagged vehicle carrier operated by its Farrell Lines subsidiary, exited the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz accompanied by U.S. military assets on Monday.

Stocks and other risk assets got some respite from a modest retreat in the oil price, which edged below Monday's high around $115 a barrel.

Still, the renewed hostilities jolted markets and served as a stark reminder that the war in the Middle East was far from over. In oil markets, Brent ‌crude futures fell 2.75% to $111.27 a barrel, having jumped in the previous session on heightened worries about supply disruption.

"Markets may find some relief today following President Trump’s overnight comments suggesting the conflict could continue for another ‌two to three weeks," ING head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson said.

"However, markets are likely to view this with considerable scepticism, given the recent escalation and the repeated extensions of projected timelines for ending hostilities since the conflict began."

Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed 83% of S&P 500 companies that have already reported have beaten EPS estimates and 78.2% of them have beaten revenue estimates. LSEG data shows earnings growth for the S&P 500 is now projected to top 18% in ‌the first quarter, up from estimates of around 12.8% just a month ago.

"With no signs of slowing down, AI-driven spending will likely continue to do the heavy lifting for S&P 500 earnings growth, led by the technology sector," said Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial.

YEN INTERVENTION WATCH The yen was last ⁠slightly weaker on ⁠the day, leaving the dollar up 0.3% at 157.73, after Monday's short-lived surge that saw the Japanese ‌currency touch an intraday high of 155.69. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Monday spoke out against speculative trading in foreign exchange, leaving market participants on alert for further intervention after sources told Reuters Tokyo intervened to prop up its ailing currency on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the ‌yen and the euro, edged down 0.04%.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 2 basis points to 4.426%. Elsewhere, spot gold rose about 1.2% to $4,574 an ounce, above Monday's trough at $4,500, the lowest since March 31.

Bitcoin continued its rebound, trading at $81,318, up from around $62,800 in early February. (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in Boston, Amanda Cooper in London and Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Keith Weir)