Stocks Wobble on Hormuz Standoff as Nvidia Sinks: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — A rally in oil prices left stocks wavering while bond yields climbed, with trader anxiety building just days ahead of key inflation reports.
The lack of a deal to revive the Strait of Hormuz drove Brent crude above $87. Higher energy costs stoked concerns the Federal Reserve will have to raise rates this year despite a labor-market slowdown. The S&P 500 fluctuated. Nvidia Corp. sank on news reports that Wall Street giants are working with the chipmaker on a $500 billion AI funding package.
President Donald Trump lashed out against Iran’s demands for war compensation as part of talks to wind down the conflict, dimming hopes of a quick deal that would reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Trump had earlier signaled he was prepared to let economic pressure on Iran build, rather than launch fresh military strikes to force a reopening of the crucial waterway.
“The failure of the governments to hold talks is worrying Wall Street participants, who had thought last week that the path to an agreement was increasingly narrow,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
While stocks had seen a burst of enthusiasm about a possible reopening of Hormuz, markets may be less likely to respond positively to vague reports about progress in talks, said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
“The jobs report may have eased some anxieties about a Fed rate hike next month, but those concerns could hit new highs without cooler-than-expected inflation numbers this week,” Larkin added.
The closely watched consumer price index is seen rising 0.1% in July following a 0.4% decline in the prior month, based on the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists ahead of Wednesday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics release.
Hotter-than-expected inflation data would likely hurt US stocks more than a dovish report would boost the benchmark, according to the JPMorgan Market Intelligence team.
“Equity positioning is cleaner, but the bond market appears more sensitive to inflation spikes, which is reflected in our scenarios whereby a hawkish print would have a larger impact than a dovish print,” the team led by Andrew Tyler wrote.
Corporate Highlights:
Intel Corp. plans to offer $15 billion worth of new stock in what may be its first public share sale since the chipmaker listed in 1971, a bid to extend its comeback and capitalize on the AI boom. Microsoft Corp. is planning to “significantly” increase production of its next-generation AI chips, the Information reported. Apple Inc. was downgraded to an underperform rating at Jefferies, in the latest example of growing bearishness toward the company. GameStop Corp., led by Chief Executive Officer Ryan Cohen, is considering withdrawing its $56 billion bid for eBay Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. Boeing Co. will sell several of its units that specialize in developing technologies for flying taxis and drones to Archer Aviation Inc. as the US planemaker focuses on its core commercial and defense units. What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Macro data are set to regain control of the equity narrative. That puts added weight on the inflation report, which could go a long way toward cementing expectations for the September FOMC meeting.”
—Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the full analysis, click here.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 1:57 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3% The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2% The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1543 The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3507 The Japanese yen fell 0.9% to 159.14 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $63,837.44 Ether fell 2.5% to $1,871.97 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 4.70% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 3.18% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 4.99% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4.7% to $81.82 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,358.38 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
