The U.S. stock market is rising toward more records Friday after Apple, Estee Lauder and other big companies became the latest to deliver fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected.

The U.S stock market motored to more records Thursday as profits keep piling up for Alphabet, Caterpillar and other big businesses.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and inched closer to its all-time high set earlier this week and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 342 points, or 0.7%, as of 9:35 a.m.

Oil prices kept spurting higher and neared their highest levels since 2022. The leap, along with hints that some Federal Reserve officials don’t want to cut interest rates any time

The price of Brent crude oil briefly surged pass $126 a barrel as stalled U.S.-Iran talks raised doubts over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to the Iran war

The price of Brent crude oil surged to around $123 a barrel early Thursday as stalled U.S.-Iran talks raised doubts over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to the Iran war. Brent crude to be delivered in June jumped 4.

US markets ticked higher before the bell with some of the country’s biggest technology companies posting first quarter earns this week.

The U.S. stock market is rising toward more records Friday after Apple, Estee Lauder and others joined the list of companies delivering fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected.