FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Update: US Equities Rise, Oil Prices Fall as Traders Look Past Middle East Tensions

By
Update: US Equities Rise, Oil Prices Fall as Traders Look Past Middle East Tensions

(Updates with market moves at the end of the day.)

Wall Street's equity benchmarks rose Thursday and oil prices pulled back, apparently shrugging off concerns over renewed tensions in the Middle East.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 1.3% higher at 26,206.9, rising for the second consecutive day. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to 7,543.6 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.3% to 52,487.4, both rebounding following a two-day decline.

Among sectors, tech led gainers with a 1.7% advance, while consumer staples saw the steepest decline.

Micron Technology's shares (MU) jumped 4.5%. The company announced an increase in its planned US investment to more than $250 billion through 2035 and outlined intentions to invest up to $3 billion to bolster domestic semiconductor supply chain.

Other chip-related stocks also moved higher, including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), ON Semiconductor (ON), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Intel (INTC).

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 2.2% at $71.87 per barrel in Thursday late-afternoon trade, while Brent dropped 2.5% to $76.05.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired 10 ballistic missiles at a US base in Jordan Thursday in retaliation to Washington's aggression, CNN reported.

The US Central Command said its forces hit Iran for the second day in a row on Wednesday after Tehran attacked three tankers that crossed the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was no longer interested in negotiating with Iran, saying he believed the recent memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries was over.

The renewed tensions between the two sides could be "relatively short-lived" given constraints faced by both countries, according to Macquarie Group.

"The US is constrained by the risk that higher oil prices could return with fewer mitigation sources available as time goes on and the risk that Iran could materially damage (Middle East) oil infrastructure," Vikas Dwivedi, global energy strategist at Macquarie, said in a report e-mailed to. "Likewise, Iran has come through the negotiations with (arguably) a great deal. We would be surprised if they overplay a good hand and test (President) Trump's patience and restraint for minimal remaining gain."

US Treasury yields were lower, with the two-year rate down 2.9 basis points at 4.17% and the 10-year rate falling 2.2 basis points to 4.55%.

PepsiCo (PEP) reported fiscal second-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates on Thursday, although soft consumer spending in the US weighed on its North American performance. The stock slid 3.3%.

Simply Good Foods (SMPL) lifted its full-year sales outlook as the nutritional snacking company recorded better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results. The stock gained 1.3%.

In economic news, applications for unemployment insurance in the US unexpectedly declined last week as labor market conditions appeared to hold steady, government data showed Thursday.

Existing home sales in the US unexpectedly decreased in June as the median price reached an all-time high, data from the National Association of Realtors showed.

Gold was up 1.2% at $4,131.80 per troy ounce, while silver gained 3% to $60.32 per ounce.

Related Articles

China's Consumer Inflation Slows as Producer Prices Climb to Nearly Four-Year High
US Markets

China's Consumer Inflation Slows as Producer Prices Climb to Nearly Four-Year High

China's consumer inflation slowed in June, even as producer prices accelerated, reflecting divergent trends across the world's second-largest economy.The headline consumer price index rose 1.0% year over year in June, easing from 1.2% in both April and May and marking the slowest increase in three months, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.The reading came in slightly below the 1.1% consensus forecast tracked by Investing.com.On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell 0.3% in June after edging down 0.1% in May, compared with market expectations for a 0.2% decline.Food prices declined 1.6% from a year earlier, while non-food prices increased 1.5%. Consumer goods prices rose 1.1%, and services prices increased 0.8%.Among major categories, transportation and communication prices rose 4.1%, healthcare costs increased 2.3%, and clothing prices gained 1.4%. Housing prices, however, fell 0.3% from a year earlier.Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 1.0% year over year in June. Consumer prices increased 1.0% on average during the first six months of 2026.Meanwhile, China's producer price index rose 4.1% year over year in June, accelerating from 3.9% in May and matching the consensus forecast tracked by Investing.com.The increase marked the fourth consecutive monthly gain and the fastest pace since July 2022, supported by firmer commodity prices and rising production costs as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to underpin global energy and raw material markets.Production material prices increased 5.5%, up from 5.2% in May, led by mining, raw materials, and processing.Consumer goods prices remained under pressure, falling 0.9% from a year earlier, as food prices declined 2.1% and clothing and daily-use goods each fell 1%.The latest inflation data highlights the uneven nature of China's economic recovery, with an AI-driven export boom supporting advanced manufacturing while weak household spending, sluggish investment, and the prolonged property downturn continue to weigh on domestic demand.Although firmer prices have lifted profits in some upstream and high-tech industries, manufacturers focused on the domestic market continue to struggle to pass higher costs on to consumers.Intense competition has also squeezed profit margins across sectors, including electric vehicles and food delivery.Analysts have called for a stronger policy support to rebalance the economy by boosting domestic demand and addressing excess industrial capacity, with resilient exports allowing policymakers to delay more aggressive stimulus measures.

Shanghai Composite^SZSE
New Zealand Manufacturing Expands to Near Five-Year High in June
US Markets

New Zealand Manufacturing Expands to Near Five-Year High in June

New Zealand's manufacturing sector recorded a sharp expansion in June, reaching its highest reading since July 2021, as full order books and strong sales outweighed the Middle East conflict and cost-of-living pressures.The latest BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index for June was 59.7, up significantly from 51.3 in May and the survey's long-term average of 52.5.Under the survey, a reading above 50 indicates an expansion, while a reading below 50 shows a contraction."There are still real headwinds with the conflict in the Middle East and high fuel prices continuing to be a factor for many respondents, but this month's result reflects a huge positive shift after a long stretch of soft results, which is a very welcome turn," said BusinessNZ's Director of Advocacy, Catherine Beard.All subindexes of the survey showed expansion, especially new orders, which rose to 64.1 from 53.2 in May, while production rose to 59.4 from 50.6, and deliveries reached 57.3 from 52.9.New Zealand ranked at the top of J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI, followed by Japan at 54.8 and the US at 53.9.Bank of New Zealand said that further expansion is needed in July to be convinced of its accuracy, but the lift provides some justification for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's decision to begin moving the cash rate toward the neutral target.

^NZ50
Update: Dow Logs Worst Day in 4 Weeks Amid Renewed US-Iran Tensions
US Markets

Update: Dow Logs Worst Day in 4 Weeks Amid Renewed US-Iran Tensions

(Updates with market moves at the end of the day and latest developments.)The Dow Jones Industrial Average logged its sharpest single-day decline in four weeks in a mixed session on Wednesday, as oil prices rallied after President Donald Trump warned of additional attacks on Iran.The Dow fell 1.1% to 52,348.4, its biggest percentage fall since June 10. The S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 7,482.7, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2% to 25,870.7. Barring energy and technology, all sectors were in the red led by materials.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 5.1% at $74.01 per barrel in Wednesday late-afternoon trade, while Brent jumped 5.8% to $78.46.During a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Turkey on Wednesday, Trump said the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran last month to end the war in the Middle East was "over."The US struck Iran on Tuesday after Tehran attacked three tankers that crossed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation to Washington's attacks, CNN reported.Trump warned of more attacks on Iran."We hit them very hard last night," Trump said in Turkey. "We'll probably hit them hard again tonight."A peace deal between the US and Iran is a key risk to watch in the second half of 2026 as energy prices may determine inflation expectations, Oxford Economics Chief Global Economist Ryan Sweet said in remarks emailed to."If the peace deal breaks, and it's too early to tell, it won't just raise oil prices; it would also increase pressure on (artificial intelligence) supply chains in Asia, force central banks to be hawkish, tighten financial conditions, and could shift the outcome of the US midterms," Sweet said. "The cascade runs fast."US Treasury yields were higher, with the two-year rate increasing 4.4 basis points to 4.21% and the 10-year rate adding 4.2 basis points to 4.57%.Federal Reserve officials held diverging views last month on the appropriate path of interest rates, minutes from the central bank's June policy meeting showed Wednesday. At that meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee unanimously decided to maintain the policy rate steady for the fourth consecutive time."The June minutes put the focus on an uncertain balance of risks," TD Economics said in a report. "Participants agreed on holding rates steady in June, but not on whether the next move is more likely to be up or down, making future meetings more 'live' and dependent on incoming data."The International Monetary Fund lowered global economic growth expectations for 2026 as the impact of the Middle East war will likely counter a boost from rising artificial intelligence adoption.In company news, Apple (AAPL) said Wednesday that Broadcom (AVGO) will produce chips to be used in the iPhone maker' products in a deal likely worth more than $30 billion. Shares of Apple rose 0.9%, among the biggest gainers on the Dow, while Broadcom advanced 4.8%.Nvidia (NVDA) shares advanced 3.7%, the best performer on the Dow.Alibaba Group (BABA), ByteDance, and DeepSeek could receive permission from China to purchase a limited volume of Nvidia H200 chips to offset a shortage due to increasing demand for artificial intelligence chips, The Information reported Wednesday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.Moderna (MRNA) slumped 7.5%, the second-worst performer on the S&P 500.Major US biopharmaceutical companies' performance in the second half of the year is likely to be driven largely by fundamentals as the focus shifts away from economic factors, Morgan Stanley said in a note.Gold shed 1.7% to $4,087.30 per troy ounce, while silver lost 4.2% to $58.75 per ounce.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AAPL$AVGO$BABA$MRNA$NVDA