A strong profit report from SpaceX helps lift AI stocks and Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rising Wednesday following strong profit reports from SpaceX, Capital One Financial and other big companies.The S&P 500 added 0.4% and pulled within 1% of its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 171 points, or 0.3%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher.SpaceX helped lead the market and climbed 7.2% after reporting a stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected. Elon Musk, who runs the company that makes money from artificial-intelligence technology, rockets and other businesses, also said that SpaceX took a step to consider a possible merger with Tesla, his electric-vehicle company.Tesla rose 3.3% ahead of its own earnings report scheduled for late Wednesday and was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.Other stocks rallying on profit reports that topped analysts’ expectations included Capital One Financial, which rose 2.7%, and Winnebago Industri