Financial Markets                      09/26 15:22

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks rose to another record Thursday as financial 
markets around the world rallied again.

   The S&P 500 added 0.4% to set an all-time high for the third time this week 
and the 42nd time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 260 
points, or 0.6%, to finish just shy of its record, while the Nasdaq composite 
rose 0.6%.

   Micron Technology led the way with a jump of 14.7% after the maker of 
computer memory and storage delivered stronger profit for the latest quarter 
than analysts expected. It benefited from sales related to 
artificial-intelligence technology, where a boom has helped drive some stocks 
to astounding heights.

   Jabil climbed 11.7% after the electronics manufacturer likewise reported 
stronger profit and revenue than expected. It also announced a plan to plow 
cash to its shareholders by buying back up to $1 billion of its stock.

   But drops for Exxon Mobil and other oil-and-gas companies kept the market's 
gains in check. Oil prices sank after The Financial Times reported through 
sources that Saudi Arabia is preparing to abandon its unofficial price target 
of $100 a barrel for crude.

   The price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell 2.9% to settle at $67.67, 
while the international standard of Brent crude fell 2.5% to $71.60. That 
dragged Exxon Mobil's stock down 1.7%, and it was one of the heaviest weights 
on the S&P 500. ConocoPhillips sank 3.2%.

   The biggest drop in the S&P 500 hit Super Micro Computer, which gave back 
some of its huge gains after more than tripling last year amid the AI frenzy. 
Its stock tumbled 12.2% following a report from The Wall Street Journal saying 
the U.S. Department of Justice is probing the seller of servers and storage 
systems. The company declined to comment.

   A prominent investor, Hindenburg Research, published a report in August that 
accused the company of accounting red flags and other issues, which CEO Charles 
Liang later said contained false or inaccurate statements.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 23.11 points to 5,745.37. The Dow rose 260.36 to 
42,175.11, and the Nasdaq composite gained 108.09 to 18,190.29.

   In stock markets overseas, indexes were more buoyant on hopes for more moves 
by China to prop up the world's second-largest economy. The country's powerful 
Politburo on Thursday called for intensified efforts as China tries to meet its 
goals for economic growth, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

   That follows a raft of announcements earlier in the week by the country's 
central bank that had also sent global markets jumping. China's economic growth 
has been flagging, and officials appear to be making a more coordinated effort 
following earlier piecemeal attempts to boost it.

   In the United States, meanwhile, more encouraging news came after a round of 
reports on Thursday suggested the world's largest economy may be doing better 
than expected.

   Fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week in the latest 
signal that layoffs remain relatively low across the economy. A separate report 
said the overall U.S. economy grew at a 3% annual rate during the spring, as 
previously estimated. That's a solid rate.

   The hope on Wall Street is for a form of financial nirvana where the U.S. 
economy's growth can hold steady and keep profits for companies humming while 
the Federal Reserve continues to lower interest rates.

   The Fed last week made a drastic turn in how it sets interest rates. It's 
now cutting them to make things easier for the U.S. economy after keeping rates 
high for years in hopes of extinguishing high inflation. Lower rates not only 
make it less expensive to borrow money to buy a house, a car or things on 
credit cards, they can also boost prices for all kinds of investments.

   The fear is that the job market could weaken further as the cumulative 
effects of all the Fed's past hikes to interest rates show themselves. The Fed 
had earlier kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high for more than a 
year, and U.S. employers have already begun to slow their hiring.

   Many traders on Wall Street are betting the Fed will end up cutting interest 
rates more deeply this year than officials have indicated. But if economic 
reports remain strong and keep topping expectations, the Fed may not end up 
cutting as much as investors are betting. That could make the U.S. stock 
market, which critics say already looks too expensive, look even pricier.

   In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 3.79%, 
where it was late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which more closely follows 
expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with short-term interest 
rates, rose to 3.62% from 3.56%.

   In stock markets abroad, jumps of 4.2% in Hong Kong and 3.6% in Shanghai led 
the way. Indexes also climbed 2.8% in Japan, 2.3% in France and 1.7% in Germany.

   South Korean stocks jumped 2.9%, led by semiconductor maker SK Hynix, which 
launched production of a new memory chip for artificial intelligence.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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