U.S. stocks drifted higher following strong profit reports from big companiesByThe Associated PressJuly 15, 2026, 4:18 PMU.S. stocks drifted higher following strong profit reports from big companies. The S&P 500 added 0.4% Wednesday after flipping between modest gains and losses through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6%. BlackRock helped lead the market after becoming the latest financial company to report a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Stocks got a lift from easing yields in the bond market after data showed U.S. inflation slowed at the wholesale level last month. Oil prices swung near their highest levels in a month.On Wednesday:The S&P 500 rose 28.81 points, or 0.4%, to 7,572.40.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 150.37 points, or 0.3%, to 52,658.64.The Nasdaq composite rose 162.22 points, or 0.6%, to 26,269.23.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 11.50 points, or 0.4%, to 2,976.26.For the week:The S&P 500 is down 2.99 points, or less than 0.1%.The Dow is up 21.63 points, or less than 0.1%.Popular ReadsThe Nasdaq is down 12.38 points, or less than 0.1%.The Russell 2000 is down 1.55 points, or 0.1%.For the year:The S&P 500 is up 726.90 points, or 10.6%.The Dow is up 4,595.35 points, or 9.6%.The Nasdaq is up 3,027.24 points, or 13%.The Russell 2000 is up 494.35 points, or 19.9%.