4:20pm: Rate hopes lift markets
US stocks finished mostly higher on Tuesday after a softer-than-expected inflation report boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise interest rates this month.
The Nasdaq led the gains, climbing 0.9% as semiconductor stocks rallied, while the S&P 500 added 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished little changed, edging up just 10 points. The June Consumer Price Index fell 0.4% from the previous month, bringing the annual inflation rate down to 3.5%, below economists' expectations of 3.8%. Following the report, market expectations for a July rate hike dropped sharply, with traders pricing in just a 16% chance compared with 42% before the data. New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh also struck a measured tone in congressional testimony, saying inflation remains too high but acknowledging recent progress.
Chipmakers were among the day's biggest winners, with Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) each jumping more than 4% as investors welcomed the prospect of a less aggressive Fed. Financial stocks also remained in focus after strong earnings from JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). Not every company shared in the optimism, however. IBM tumbled 25% after issuing a disappointing preliminary second-quarter earnings update, citing weak mainframe demand and delayed software deals.
Investors now turn their attention to another busy day of earnings on Wednesday, with results due from ASML, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), and BlackRock.
3:45pm: Proactive news headlines
- American Resources Corp (NASDAQ:AREC) said its ReElement Technologies subsidiary received a $25 million investment from the U.S. Department of War to expand its Indiana rare earth and critical mineral refining campus with new equipment, production capacity, and working capital.
- Nine Mile Metals Ltd. (CSE:NINE, OTCQB:VMSXF, FRA:KQ9) reported that its third drill hole of the 2026 program at the Wedge project in New Brunswick intersected 125.25 metres of pyrite and chalcopyrite mineralization, with assay results pending.
- Century Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:LCE, OTCQX:CYDVF) appointed independent director Corby Anderson as board chair, while former chair Bryan Disher transitioned to a non-executive role and will continue to lead the company's Audit Committee.
- Blockmate Ventures Inc (TSX-V:MATE, OTCQB:MATEF, FRA:8MH) closed an oversubscribed $1 million private placement, with proceeds earmarked to advance its Wyoming AI data centre project and for general working capital.
- Standard Uranium Ltd (TSX-V:STND, OTCQB:STTDF, FRA:9SU0) reported encouraging geochemical results from its winter 2026 drill program at the Corvo uranium project in Saskatchewan, identifying anomalous uranium and pathfinder elements that support further exploration.
2:40pm: Market movers
- International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM) shares fell sharply after preliminary second-quarter results missed expectations, with the company warning that weaker-than-expected customer spending hurt its software and infrastructure businesses.
- Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) was initiated with a Buy rating and a $330 price target by Bank of America, which cited the company’s improved profitability, portfolio optimization, pricing gains, cost discipline, and growth in higher-margin markets such as aerospace, defense, space, and data infrastructure.
- Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER, XETRA:UT8) and Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF) (Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF), Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF)) are reportedly in advanced talks for Uber to acquire the German food-delivery company, with a potential agreement expected soon as Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF) shares climbed while Uber shares declined.
- American Resources Corp (NASDAQ:AREC) said its ReElement Technologies subsidiary received a $25 million U.S. Department of War investment to expand its Indiana rare earth and critical mineral refining campus with new equipment, production capacity, and working capital.
- CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK) announced a 20-year lease agreement for its Sandersville, Georgia data center campus with a global technology company, a deal expected to generate about $6.6 billion in contracted revenue and potentially $11.6 billion with extensions.
- Nine Mile Metals Ltd. (CSE:NINE, OTCQB:VMSXF, FRA:KQ9) reported that its latest drill hole at the Wedge project in New Brunswick intersected 125 metres of sulphide mineralization containing pyrite and chalcopyrite, with assay results still pending.
- Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) shares jumped after the company announced a Japan-backed expansion of its silicon photonics, silicon germanium, and advanced packaging capabilities to meet growing demand from AI and data center customers.
- Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) shares rose after the bank posted second-quarter results above Wall Street forecasts, driven by growth in net interest income, investment banking, trading, and wealth management.
- Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) reported second-quarter revenue that exceeded estimates, supported by strength in fixed-income trading and investment banking, with earnings per share reaching $3.15.
- Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS, XETRA:GOS) shares gained after the investment bank delivered stronger-than-expected second-quarter results, helped by solid investment banking and trading performance.
1:10pm: Uber eyeing Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF)
Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER, XETRA:UT8) (Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER, XETRA:UT8), Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER, XETRA:UT8)) is in advanced talks to acquire German food-delivery company Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF) (Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF), Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF)), according to a Bloomberg report, with the companies aiming to finalize a takeover agreement as soon as this week.
Shares of Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF) (Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF), Delivery Hero (XETRA:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF)) rose almost 6% following the report, while Uber shares fell about 2%.
Uber has already built a significant stake in Delivery Hero, holding 24.99% of the company’s shares and additional derivatives that bring its total economic interest to about 36.8%.
The reported acquisition discussions follow months of stake-building by Uber as the company seeks to expand its position in the global food-delivery market. A full takeover would give Uber control of one of Europe’s largest online food-delivery platforms.
12:00pm: 'Benign' inflation print
LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach said June's cooler-than-expected inflation report was largely driven by a sharp drop in energy prices, which pushed the annual headline CPI rate down to 3.5%. However, he cautioned that the decline may prove temporary, as energy prices have risen in early July.
Roach noted that core inflation slowed to 2.59% year over year, its lowest level since February, and expects it to ease further through the third and fourth quarters as durable goods prices improve. He said the report is supportive for investor sentiment but warned that geopolitical risks remain the biggest wildcard, adding that inflation should improve more meaningfully by year-end if supply chains normalize by Labor Day.
"After today’s benign core inflation release, it appears less likely that the FOMC will raise rates over the next few meetings," Roach wrote.
"However, we may still be at an inflection point, given the risk that the energy shock could spill over into other categories of consumer prices. A positive resolution with Iran before the end of the summer is becoming increasingly important."
10:45am: Soft CPI eases pressure
Bank of America said the softer-than-expected reading eases near-term pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, while also pointing to further evidence that tariff-driven price pressures are fading as goods prices broadly declined.
The bank noted there was little sign of World Cup-related inflation, while softer rent data suggests recent strength in housing inflation may have been temporary.
Even so, it maintained its forecast for 75 basis points of rate hikes this year beginning in September, saying the weak CPI report gives the Fed "the luxury of staying on hold a little longer" even as inflation remains above its target.
10am: Chipmakers and banks help Wall Street open higher
US stocks have opened higher, led by the Nasdaq's chipmakers and semiconductor equipment stocks, with big banks gaining too after earnings.
The tech-heavy index rose 0.5%, ahead of gains of around 0.2% for both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones.
Strongest performers included Lumentum, Lam Research, AMD, Marvell, Micron, Applied Materials and Intel.
The Dow was held back by a 24% plunge for IBM, with the next fallers being Salesforce, down 3.4% and Microsoft, down 2%.
Goldman Sachs was close to the top of the S&P leaderboard, up 5.1% on the back of a strong set of earnings, with JPMorgan Chase also crushing it.
8.40am: CPI gives boost
Stock futures have picked up after a softer-than-expected CPI report boosted hopes the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates on hold.
June's CPI rate eased to 3.5% from 4.2%, below forecasts of 3.8%, while core inflation eased to 2.6% against expectations of 2.8%.
On a monthly basis, CPI fell 0.4% compared to May, the biggest monthly decline since May 2020, prompting traders to pare bets on Fed hikes.
S&P 500 futures are now up 0.4% and Nasdaq futures 0.7% higher, while Dow futures are down 0.1%.
8am: Mixed open expected, IBM set to plunge
Wall Street looked set for a mixed open as investors digested a 23% plunge in IBM shares, another jump in oil prices and the start of the second-quarter earnings season.
Dow Jones futures were down 281 points, or 0.5%, while S&P 500 futures were 0.1% lower. Nasdaq futures were pointing higher, up 0.6% after a sell-off in technology stocks at the start of the week.
Yesterday saw the Nasdaq tumble 1.6% to 25,873 as higher oil prices and weakness in chipmakers weighed on sentiment, with the S&P 500 dropping 0.8% to 7,515 and the Dow slipping 0.3% to 52,499 .
On Tuesday morning, US benchmark WTI crude is up 2% at $79.60 a barrel, having topped $81 earlier.
This escalation follows a third consecutive night of US strikes on Iran and after President Donald Trump announced a renewed blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on Iranian cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran rejected the move, while the UAE said Iranian missiles had struck two oil tankers transiting the waterway.
Attention now turns to June's US inflation report, which could shape expectations for interest rates, before earnings season begins in earnest.
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup kick off the US bank earnings season before the opening bell.
IBM shares plunged more than 23% in premarket trading after the technology group's preliminary second-quarter results showed revenue growth slowed to 1%, with a 7% decline in infrastructure sales offsetting gains in software.
The company reported revenue of $17.2 billion, while operating earnings per share rose 5% to $2.93 and year-to-date free cash flow reached $4.8 billion, but investors focused on the weaker top-line performance and pressure on margins.