Financial Markets                      12/11 09:54

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Most U.S. stocks are rising on Thursday, but a sell-off for 
Oracle is weighing on Wall Street as investors question whether its big 
spending on artificial-intelligence technology will pay off.

   The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and pulled further from its all-time high, which 
was set in October. Drops for AI-related stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite 
down 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was doing much better with a 
gain of 420 points, or 0.9%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.

   Oracle tumbled 12.7% and at one point in the morning was on track for its 
worst day since 2001, when the dot-com bubble was still deflating. Its 14% 
growth in revenue for the latest quarter came up just short of analysts' 
expectations even though it reported a better profit than analysts expected.

   Doubts also remain about whether all the spending that Oracle is doing on AI 
technology will produce the payoff of increased profits and productivity that 
proponents are promising. Analysts said they were surprised by how much Oracle 
may spend on AI investments this fiscal year, and questions continue about how 
the company will pay for it.

   Such doubts are weighing on the AI industry broadly, even as many billions 
of dollars continue to flow in. They had helped drag the broad U.S. stock 
market through some sharp and scary swings last month.

   Nvidia, the chip company that's become the poster child of the AI boom and 
is raking in close to $20 billion each month, fell 3.1% Thursday. It was the 
single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.

   Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said it will continue to buy chips from 
Nvidia, but it's now taking a policy of "chip neutrality," where it will use 
"whatever chips our customers want to buy. There are going to be a lot of 
changes in AI technology over the next few years and we must remain agile in 
response to those changes."

   Even with the struggles for AI-related stocks, most U.S. stocks rose 
Thursday.

   Eli Lilly helped lead the way and climbed 3% after announcing encouraging 
results from a clinical trial for adult patients who are obese or overweight 
and have knee osteoarthritis, without diabetes.

   Stocks broadly got some lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. 
The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.11% from 4.13% on Wednesday and 
from 4.18% on Tuesday.

   Lower Treasury yields mean U.S. government bonds are paying less in 
interest, which can encourage investors to pay higher prices for stocks and 
other kinds of investments.

   Yields fell after a report said the number of U.S. workers applying for 
unemployment benefits jumped last week by more than economists expected. That's 
a potential indication of rising layoffs and could encourage the Federal 
Reserve to keep cutting interest rates to bolster the job market.

   A day earlier, yields eased after the Fed cut its main interest rate for the 
third time this year and indicated another cut may be ahead in 2026. Wall 
Street loves lower interest rates because they can boost the economy and send 
prices for investments higher, even if they potentially make inflation worse.

   Elsewhere on Wall Street, Nordson rose 2.5%. The maker of systems used for 
precision dispensing and other products reported a stronger profit for the 
latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave a forecasted range for 
earnings in its upcoming fiscal year whose midpoint was slightly above 
analysts' expectations.

   The Walt Disney Co. added 1.4% after OpenAI said the entertainment giant is 
investing $1 billion in it. It's part of a three-year agreement that will also 
allow OpenAI to use more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars 
characters to generate short, user-prompted social videos.

   On the losing end of Wall Street, Oxford Industries tumbled 24.2% after the 
company behind Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer pointed to how its customers 
have been seeking out deals and are "highly value-driven." CEO Tom Chubb said 
the start of the holiday shopping season has been weaker than the company 
expected, and it cut its forecast for revenue for the full year.

   Vera Bradley, meanwhile, tumbled 30.7% after reporting a larger loss for the 
latest quarter than expected.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes ticked higher in Europe after falling in 
much of Asia.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 index sank 0.9%, hurt by a sharp drop for SoftBank Group 
Corp., which is a major investor in AI.

   ___

   AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

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