Financial Markets                      08/21 15:40

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks rose Friday and trimmed their losses from a 
shaky week. That was even though the bond market, which has been the center of 
Wall Street's action, remained jumpy and continued to add pressure.

   The S&P 500 rose 0.4% for just its second gain in the six days since setting 
its all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 517 
points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.4%.

   Ross Stores helped lead the way and rose 4.4% after reporting stronger 
profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Jim 
Conroy said it saw both an increase in new customers and more interest from 
existing customers, while the off-price retailer at the same time benefited 
from refunds on tariffs.

   Most U.S. companies have reported bigger profits for the spring than 
analysts expected, which has helped drive stocks to records recently. Stock 
prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.

   Hopes for continued profit growth got a boost from a preliminary report by 
S&P Global suggesting growth for U.S. business activity hit a 52-month high. 
But the other big lever that helps set stock prices, interest rates, has been 
much shakier.

   After soaring through the summer and then hesitating following this week's 
surprise move by the U.S. Treasury Department to repurchase more U.S. 
government bonds, yields climbed further on Friday.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.73% from 4.69% late Thursday. 
It's back above its level from before the Treasury market made its move, which 
analysts said at the time would likely have only a temporary effect. The 
30-year Treasury yield, which the Fed is also targeting with its bond 
repurchases, also rose and is near its highest level since 2007.

   Contributing to Friday's gains for bond yields was continued uncertainty 
about when the war with Iran will allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian 
Gulf again. That caused oil prices to rise, which affects Treasury yields 
because they increase worries about inflation.

   The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil settled at $92.67, up 0.8%.

   Besides inflation, concerns about the fast-rising debt for the U.S. 
government have also been sending yields upward. Higher yields can slow the 
economy and undercut prices for all kinds of investments.

   One of the biggest beneficiaries of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's 
move to try to get longer-term yields lower is bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies often 
rise when interest rates are lower and more money is flowing through the 
financial system. Hopes for legislation in Washington to help the crypto 
industry have also helped it.

   Bitcoin has climbed above $77,000 from less than $63,000 a week ago. That 
helped stocks in the crypto industry lead Wall Street. Robinhood Markets jumped 
13.7%, and Coinbase Global gained 8.2%.

   The price of gold also climbed and briefly topped $4,690 per ounce from less 
than $4,440 a week earlier. The Treasury Department's buyback announcement has 
helped weaken the U.S. dollar's value against other currencies, which tends to 
give gold's price a boost.

   That helped drive stocks of miners higher. Newmont climbed 3.1%, and 
Freeport-McMoRan jumped 7.6%.

   They helped offset a 5.2% drop for OSI Systems, which sells security 
screening equipment to airports and other specialized electronic systems. It 
reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and CEO 
Ajay Mehra said it was hurt by "the Middle East conflicts which shifted the 
timing of certain planned deliveries."

   Boston Beer sank 2.6% after the seller of Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head said 
its chief financial officer is leaving the company and announced an interim 
replacement.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 33.21 points to 7,674.37. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average jumped 517.80 to 53,277.01, and the Nasdaq composite added 
113.29 to 26,180.45.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in much of Asia and Europe. Hong 
Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.2%, and South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.9% for two of the 
world's bigger moves.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this 
report.

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