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Oil Prices Dip; Still No Agreement to Reopen Hormuz
Brent Crude Falls 0.1% to $94.96 a Barrel
| Updated:
Key Takeaways:
- A drop for Alphabet is helping to slow the stock market’s record-breaking rally.
- Oil prices are slipping, yet still well above prewar levels.
- Much hinges on whether the U.S. and Iran will reach agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz.
NEW YORK — A drop for Alphabet, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks, is helping to slow the U.S. stock market’s record-breaking rally on June 2.
In the oil market, prices were calmer following the June 1 bounce back. Brent crude oil, the international standard, slipped less than 0.1% to $94.96 per barrel, though that’s still well above the roughly $70 level it was at before the war.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% a day after setting its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 65 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower.
Analysts have said the market may be set for a slowdown following an unrelenting streak of nine straight winning weeks for the S&P 500, its longest since 2023. The rally has built with strong profit reports from U.S. companies, as well as hopes that the United States and Iran will reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil to flow freely again from the Persian Gulf and lower its price.
The heaviest weight on the market was the parent company of Google, which fell 4% after saying it is raising $80 billion in cash by selling its stock. The company said it plans to use some of that cash to pay for its huge investments in artificial-intelligence technology.
It’s planning to spend as much as $190 billion on equipment and other investments this year, with forecasts for spending “to significantly increase” next year.
national average of $4.25/gal is likely a low point for the next 7 days, possibly longer- expecting price cycles/hikes in some states starting today, we could be back above $4.30 to close to $4.35/gal soon as we await new developments in the US/Iran situation — Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) June 2, 2026
Such huge sums raise the question about whether AI can produce the profits and productivity necessary to make all the investment worth it. Critics have already been talking about the possibility of a bubble in AI investment.
In the meantime, the companies selling the shovels and picks in Wall Street’s latest gold rush continue to benefit.
Hewlett Packard Enterprises soared 31.5% after reporting a profit for the latest quarter that blew past analysts’ expectations. It credited demand from customers building their AI capabilities.
Generac climbed 7.7% after it said it signed a deal with an unnamed “leading hyperscale data center operator” to provide it with backup power generators.
Brian Antonellis of Fleet Advantage discusses how fleet leaders should be thinking about capital planning with the 2027 NOx emissions rules on the horizon. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
Chip companies also continued to rally, and Broadcom jumped 4.8%.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were relatively steady ahead of a report coming later in the morning about the job market. Economists expect it to show U.S. employers were advertising slightly fewer job openings at the end of April than a month earlier.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.45% from 4.47% late June 1.
In stock markets abroad indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.5% for one of the world’s biggest moves.
AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
