US Stocks Edge Down as Oil Prices Climb Amid Strait of Hormuz Uncertainty
The US stock market edged down on Monday from its all-time high, while oil prices rose due to uncertainty about the Strait of Hormuz's reopening. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% from its record set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 60 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. Momentum slowed for stocks following a rally powered by soaring profits for big US companies.
Reports are on track to show earnings per share leaped 50% in the spring from a year earlier for companies in the S&P 500, according to FactSet. This would be the best growth since five years ago, when the economy was roaring out of the chasm created by COVID. Berkshire Hathaway is one of the latest companies to deliver a stronger profit for the last quarter than analysts expected.
The company built by legendary investor Warren Buffett said over the weekend that it's also invested some of its massive pile of cash into stocks under its new CEO, Greg Abel. Berkshire Hathaway has been famous for buying stocks at what it considers low prices, and criticism has been high that US stocks generally look too expensive.
But when they report strong profits, it helps them look less pricey. The company's stock rose 1.5%. In other notable gains, MarineMax jumped 46.1% after agreeing to sell itself for about $1.5 billion in cash to a portfolio company of Blackstone, and Varex Imaging leaped 48.8% after Teledyne Technologies said it would buy the maker of X-ray imaging components for $18.90 per share in cash.