S&P 500 Wavers as Oil Climbs Before Inflation Data: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders refrained from making big bets on stocks and bonds ahead of a key inflation report as oil resumed its advance.
US crude topped $83 on a news report that Iran plans to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut until its demands are met. Earlier in the session, oil briefly fell after Pakistan signaled a potential agreement that could reduce tensions roiling energy markets. The S&P 500 fluctuated. Treasury yields edged mildly lower ahead of data that’s expected to show moderation in consumer prices.
“Every time the enemy violates its commitments and turns back to war, it will face harsher conditions,” said Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, state-run IRIB News reported.
President Donald Trump has recently toughened his stance, saying Tehran should pay reparations for those killed in attacks linked to the Islamic Republic and in domestic protests. His comments came in response to a series of demands laid out by Iran over the weekend, including compensation for US violations of a now-lapsed interim peace deal agreed by the sides in June.
“We see crude oil prices driving the war narrative, with price swings likely to dictate the pace of escalation and de-escalation,” said Elias Haddad at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Wednesday’s consumer price index is likely to show a cooling of energy-related price pressures that had intensified in the months immediately following the start of the US war with Iran at the end of February.
In the wake of Friday’s weak July jobs report, the moderation in price growth may help alleviate some of the inflation anxiety at the Federal Reserve after three officials dissented on July 29 in favor of raising interest rates.
“I expect the CPI report to continue its downward trend which will further support the case for the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady rather than hiking them, even with last Friday’s weak jobs report,” said Dennis Follmer at Montis Financial.
Data Tuesday showed sales of existing homes fell to a three-month low in July as elevated prices and mortgage rates continued to weigh on the housing market. Meantime, small-business optimism rose to the highest level in almost a year as firms ramped up hiring plans and inflation pressures eased.
“A resolution to the Middle East conflict could provide an additional boost to sentiment,” said Jeffrey Roach at LPL Financial. “One particularly encouraging observation from the report’s summary was the reminder that ‘the world has plenty of oil.’ Economic conditions are favorable for risk appetite.”
Corporate Highlights:
CoreWeave Inc. shares have been on a roll lately after a monthslong slump. Now, the neocloud provider’s earnings after the close Tuesday can give investors a sense of whether the rally is sustainable. Anthropic PBC struck a $9.1 billion deal with Riot Platforms Inc., a Bitcoin mining company that recently began selling AI data center capacity, people familiar with the matter said. On Holding AG posted disappointing second-quarter sales as the Swiss brand held off from discounting older shoe models ahead of product updates in the highly promotional US market. Fermi Inc. announced its first binding lease with TensorWave Inc. for its massive data center campus under development in West Texas. Hims & Hers Health Inc. reported a second-quarter loss that fell short of Wall Street’s estimates as its focus on selling brand-name weight-loss drugs over copycat versions has proven less profitable. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 12:04 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3% The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1542 The British pound was little changed at $1.3512 The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.24 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $63,587.11 Ether fell 0.8% to $1,863.61 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.68% Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.16% Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.96% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $83.07 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.2% to $4,382.71 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
