Dow Jones Index Rises 0.5% as Oil Slips Nearly 3%

The dow jones index rose 0.5% on Tuesday as oil prices fell and investors weighed a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire against a wave of earnings. The move left the Dow higher even as traders kept one eye on crude and the other on company results.

Brent crude futures fell nearly 3% to around $111 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude lost over 3% to trade below $103. That pullback helped support a broader rebound in U.S. equities, with the S&P 500 rising 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite adding 1%.

Micron, Intel and earnings

Micron stock jumped about 10% after Fitch Ratings upgraded its credit rating from BBB to BBB+. In a statement on Tuesday, Fitch said, "The upgrade reflects Micron's improved financial profile following significant debt repayments over the past 12 months". The move gave traders a concrete earnings-season signal that balance-sheet repair is still being rewarded.

Intel popped 13% after reported that Apple was exploring making chips in the U.S. using Intel and Samsung's services. That added a separate lift to chip shares and kept attention on company-specific catalysts instead of the Middle East risk that had weighed on stocks earlier.

Trade and labor data

The U.S. trade deficit grew 4.4% to $60.3 billion, a reminder that trade flows remained a live pressure point even as equities advanced. Job openings barely budged in March, according to the JOLTS report, giving the session another data point for traders sorting through the pace of demand.

The unemployment rate for 22-27 year-olds with college degrees fell to 5.6% in March from 5.8% in February, but the rate for recent college graduates remained above 5% for the ninth consecutive month since July 2025. Manuel Abecasis, a U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs, estimated that AI-related price pressures have raised inflation and will keep pushing it higher over the next year, a view that keeps the labor and price backdrop tied to the earnings and energy moves in Tuesday’s session.