Stock indices are stabilizing even as oil prices continue to rise amid the conflict in the Middle East. After the U.S. market closes, Alphabet and Tesla will report earnings, with both releases expected to be the key events of the evening and potential catalysts for increased volatility in index futures.
Brent crude climbed to around $95 per barrel before easing slightly. President Trump signaled that the U.S. is prepared to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and warned Iran that attacks on commercial shipping could trigger strikes on the country's critical infrastructure.
- U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 2.01 million barrels, slightly more than the market expected (-1.95 million barrels).
- Gasoline inventories increased by 0.765 million barrels, while economists had expected a 1.905 million-barrel decline.
- Distillate inventories fell by 1.395 million barrels, compared with expectations for a 0.825 million-barrel increase.
- Crude inventories at the Cushing hub declined by 0.674 million barrels, following a 0.430 million-barrel increase in the previous week.
Investors are closely watching earnings from Alphabet, Tesla, IBM, Texas Instruments, and ServiceNow, which are expected to provide fresh insights into AI spending, cloud demand, enterprise technology budgets, and the outlook for the technology sector.
Gold is up nearly 1.8% today, climbing above $4,150 per ounce, while silver is gaining almost 4%. The U.S. dollar is edging lower, and Bitcoin is holding steady around $66,000.
ICE cocoa futures are down around 5% today to approximately $5,300 per tonne, remaining under pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar, exchange inventories that have climbed to their highest level in two years, and signs of improving supply from West Africa. Cocoa exports from Nigeria rose 30% year-over-year in June, while deliveries from Côte d'Ivoire are up 21% since the start of the season, reinforcing expectations of greater global cocoa availability.
Fed funds futures currently imply roughly a 31% probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike this month and a 75% chance of at least one 25-basis-point increase in September. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank remains constructive on U.S. equities, citing nearly 30% earnings growth for S&P 500 companies and forecasting a modest 2% market gain during the current earnings season.
- Apple shares are down more than 1% despite reports that the company is preparing a broad refresh of its Mac lineup to support its AI strategy, including new MacBook, Mac mini, and Mac Studio models, as well as future OLED versions.
- Reddit shares are down around 9% after reports that the company is considering ending Google's access to Reddit content for AI training, potentially putting one of its key AI-related licensing partnerships at risk.
US30 (D1 interval)
Source: xStation5
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