PepsiCo's Price Cuts on Chips Paid Off

The US stock market edged up to another record on Thursday even as crude oil prices continued to climb.

• The S&P 500 rose 18.33 points, or 0.3%, to 7,041.28, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in January.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115 points, or 0.2%, to 48,578.72.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 86.69 points, or 0.4%, to 24,102.70.

Stocks have leaped more than 10% since late March on hopes for an end to the Iran war. Now, the wait is on to see if such hopes were prescient or just wishful thinking, the AP reports. Oil prices climbed, showing that markets remain cautious. Brent crude rose back above $99 a barrel.

Pakistan's powerful army chief met Thursday with Iran's parliament speaker as part of efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the US, and Iran. "The key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and Iran break down," ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote Thursday. "This isn't an unrealistic scenario, given that US and Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart." In the meantime, big US companies are continuing to deliver growth in profits for the start of 2026 that's even better than analysts expected.

PepsiCo rose 2.3% after reporting better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Customers bought more snacks during the quarter, after the company said in February it would cut prices on Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, and Tostitos chips to win back people frustrated by high prices. JB Hunt Transport Services rumbled 6.3% higher, and Marsh & McLennan climbed 4.4% after both likewise delivered stronger results than expected. Technology stocks also broadly got some support after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an industry heavyweight, reported stronger revenue and profit for the start of 2026 than analysts expected.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Abbott, which fell 6% even though it reported slightly better results than analysts expected. The health care company cut its forecast for profit over the full year, mostly because of its purchase of cancer-screening company Exact Sciences. Allbirds slumped 35.8%, but that gave back only a portion of its 582% surge from the day before. The company, formerly known for sneakers, is pivoting to the artificial-intelligence industry and hopes to rent out the use of high-powered AI chips as a service.