Wall Street hangs near its records as Krispy Kreme and Trump Media soar

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are ticking higher Tuesday, near their record levels.

The S&P 500 was up 0.2% in afternoon trading, coming off a listless performance where it edged a bit further from its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 58 points, or 0.2%, as of 1:52 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.

Much of the heavy lifting for the market was courtesy of several Big Tech stocks. A 3.7% rise for Tesla and a 1% climb for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, were among the strongest forces pushing the S&P 500 upward.

But several smaller companies were making some of the splashiest moves. Krispy Kreme jumped 28.1%, after it announced a deal where McDonald’s restaurants will sell its doughnuts across the country. It will begin later this year and hopes to be nationwide by the end of 2026.

Another food company, McCormick, was also helping to lead the market and climbed 10%. The seller of spices, hot sauces and seasonings reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said its business looks strong, with sales growth for the year looking to come in at the high end of its projections.

Trump Media & Technology Group was another big mover, soaring 48.7%. It’s the first day of trading for the company under its new ticker, “DJT,” which are the initials of former President Donald Trump. The company took the place of a shell company that had been trading on the Nasdaq after the two merged.

The stock’s price has shot well beyond what several experts say is reasonable, driven by excitement about Trump’s latest run for the White

House. Truth Social, the platform that’s the company’s main asset, is losing money and expects to continue to do so while competing against rivals with many more users.

The overall U.S. stock market is also facing criticism that it’s become too expensive, though not as much as Trump Media & Technology Group has received.