The S&P 500 was relatively unchanged on Tuesday as investors weighed signs of progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz against lingering doubts that the U.S. and Iran can reach a broader resolution to the conflict.
The broad market index rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 126 points, or 0.2%.
Nvidia shares kept the S&P 500 afloat, rising more than 1%. On Monday, the company said it’s partnering with six large asset managers to mobilize more than $500 billion for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The moves come as oil held steady amid uncertainty over the Middle East conflict.
Iran has said it is closing in on a deal with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran has continued to resist direct negotiations with the U.S. until several conditions are met.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday there was “no possibility of restarting negotiations” as long as the U.S. continues violating the June memorandum of understanding and does not compensate Iran for those violations, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were marginally lower at $81 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude was also slightly lower at $87 a barrel.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.73% higher, while Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.19%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.03% and the mainland CSI 300 was down 0.79%. Japan markets are closed for a holiday.
European stocks advanced marginally amid waning investor optimism of an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
London’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX were all below the flatline in early trade.
Investors will next turn to a key batch of inflation data, with the July consumer price report due Wednesday and the producer price index out Thursday. The readings could prove particularly important after a weak jobs report complicated the Fed’s outlook.
The inflation reports could put the Fed in a difficult position. Higher oil prices are renewing concerns about price pressures just as the sharp slowdown in hiring raises questions about the strength of consumer spending and the broader economy.
“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, chief investment officer at Montis Financial.
“Services inflation could continue to be a sticky problem, but that sector is not very sensitive to interest rates, so it shouldn’t really damage the case for holding steady,” he added.
Stocks rise slightly
The three major averages kicked off Tuesday’s session slightly in the green.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.1% just after the opening bell, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 117 points, or 0.2%.
— Sean Conlon
Truist Securities upgrades Best Buy
Best Buy is likely to continue gaining momentum on several market trends, including the integration of artificial intelligence into consumer electronics, according to Truist Securities.
The bank upgraded the consumer electronics retailer to buy from hold. It also hiked its price target on shares to $95 from $81, suggesting 15% upside from Monday’s close.
“We think the improvement [in Best Buy] is being driven by continued replacement demand, internal changes (like appliance delivery) and emerging mini-product cycles (like AI wearables),” analyst Scot Ciccarelli said Tuesday in a note to clients.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Liz Napolitano
Small business outlook improves as hiring plans jump
Confidence among small business owners hit its highest point in nearly a year during July, boosted by strong hiring plans, the National Federation of Independent Business reported Tuesday.
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 99.8, up 2.4 points to its best level since August 2025 and above its 52-year average of 98.0.
The labor market was the big story for the month as a seasonally adjusted net 20% of owners said they were planning on creating new jobs over the next three years. That was the highest level since October 2022 and up 9 points from June.
“Although uncertainty is currently elevated, Main Street anticipates that business conditions will continue to improve,” said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg.
— Jeff Cox
Nvidia shares rise
— Sean Conlon and Hugh Son
Intel, Riot Platforms among the key movers before the open
Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:
- Intel – The chipmaker fell slightly after upsizing a common stock offering to $20 billion from $15 billion. The proceeds, Intel said, would be used for “general corporate purposes.”
- Hims & Hers Health – Shares fell 6% after the telehealth company trimmed the upper end of its full-year EBITDA outlook. Hims & Hers also posted a net loss of 37 cents per share for Q2, compared with a profit of 17 cents per share in the prior year.
- Riot Platforms – The crypto miner rallied nearly 20% after its second-quarter revenue topped analyst expectations. Riot’s top line clocked in at $174.2 million, while analysts polled by FactSet expected revenue of $154.3 million. The company also announced a 191-megawatt data center lease deal with “a Leading Frontier AI Lab.”
Read more here.
— Fred Imbert
Here’s the latest ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street
- Stock futures were little changed early Tuesday. S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.12%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1%.
- Oil prices moved sharply higher on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 2.4% higher at $84.14 a barrel at 5:45 a.m. ET, at their highest level this month. International benchmark Brent crude was up 2.1% at $89.56 a barrel.
- Treasury yields moved higher as tensions in the Middle East continue to weigh on energy prices and investors look ahead to inflation data due later in the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note increased 3 basis points to 4.7334% in early trade.
- Intel announced its $15 billion common stock offering, announced on Monday, has been increased to $20 billion, as the chipmaker seeks additional capital to support its buildout of artificial intelligence computing power.
— Joseph Wilkins
Hims & Hers shares drop 7% as wider profit loss clouds weight-loss drug push
Shares of Hims & Hers fell as much as 7% in early premarket trading Tuesday after the telehealth company posted a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss as it transitions to selling branded weight-loss drugs through its platform.
While revenue grew 38% year-on-year to $753 million, it swung to a net loss of $86.3 million in the quarter ended June. U.S. revenue grew 17% while its international business grew more than 17-fold, driven by its acquisition of Australian digital health company Eucalyptus in June, it said.
The company also raised its full-year guidance, saying it expects acceleration through the second half of the year.
The outlook implies a hefty profit lift in the fourth quarter, keeping “execution risk elevated,” Citi analysts said.
Subscribers grew by 21% in the quarter as it sold more sexual health, skincare, hair-loss treatments and, crucially, weight-loss medication.
Its volatile stock closely tracks investors’ perceived chances of cashing in on the GLP-1 boom.
Wegovy and Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk earlier this year sued Hims for patent infringement, but later dropped those charges as it made a deal to sell its branded weight-loss drugs through its platform in exchange for Hims ending advertising compounded GLP-1 drugs.
— Elsa Ohlen
Treasury yields move higher
Treasury yields moved higher as tensions in the Middle East continue to weigh on energy prices and investors look ahead to inflation data due later in the week.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note — the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — increased 3 basis points to 4.7334% in early trade.
The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which typically tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, was up by more than 2 basis points at 4.2597%.
The 30-year Treasury yield, which is typically more sensitive to geopolitical events, rose more than 3 basis points to 5.2790%.
— Hugh Leask
Asia-Pacific markets end mixed as oil worries loom
Asia-Pacific markets ended mixed Tuesday. Kospi rose 0.73% to end at 6,345.53, while the small-cap Kosdaq index added 0.39% to end the trading day at 857.84.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.19% to close at 9,250.6.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.81% to 4,663.79. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1% in its last hour of trade.
Oil was up more than 2% on Tuesday.
— Lee Ying Shan
European stocks inch higher, oil and gas stocks lead gains
European stocks opened marginally higher on Tuesday, led by oil and gas stocks, amid waning investor optimism of an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Shortly after the opening bell, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was trading just above the flat line, with regional bourses and sectors painting a mixed picture.
London’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX were all flat in early trade.
Oil and gas stocks led gains, rising 1.1%, while travel and leisure stocks lagged the broader index, falling 0.8%.
— Joseph Wilkins
Intel increases size of stock offering to $20 billion, up from $15 billion
Intel announced its $15 billion common stock offering announced on Monday has been increased to $20 billion, as the chipmaker seeks additional capital to support its buildout of artificial intelligence computing power.
Intel announced in a statement that its offering has been priced at $95 a share, representing a discount of over 2.5% to its closing price of $97.52 on Monday.
Its shares fell 4% on Monday as investors raised concerns about potentially diluting the total stock.
— Joseph Wilkins
IHG earnings get World Cup boost, CEO sees ‘normality returning’ to Middle East market
InterContinental Hotels Group has reported strong revenue growth and a 10% rise in profits, backing its full year guidance, as its CEO struck a bullish tone on CNBC on Tuesday morning.
The Holiday Inn owner said earnings were boosted by strong performance in the U.S. thanks to a FIFA World Cup boost, while performance in Europe and China helped offset weakness in the Middle East.
But CEO Elie Maalouf told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe this morning that the group “sees a sense of normality returning to the Middle East market,” as the region begins to enter a recovery stage.
— Joseph Wilkins
Hormuz Deadlock: Where oil prices could head next as prospects for an imminent deal fade
Oil prices remain below their recent peaks even as prospects for a quick reopening of the Strait of Hormuz fade, a disconnect analysts warn may not last.
Brent crude futures ended last week down more than 7% following signals from Washington that an agreement with Tehran to unblock the vital maritime chokepoint was in sight.
An agreement is yet to materialize, with prospects for a deal appearing to deteriorate over the weekend.
Read the full story here.
— Jenni Reid
eToro shares rise ahead of earnings
Online brokerage platform eToro reports earnings before the bell. The stock is down 11.4% in three months and has more than halved since its IPO in May 2025.
Shares in eToro were seen up 2.3% in after hours trading.
— Joseph Wilkins
Oil prices rise as prospects for U.S.-Iran peace deal dim
Oil prices edged higher Tuesday as prospects for a U.S.-Iran peace agreement dimmed after President Donald Trump flipped the script on Iran, demanding compensation from Tehran.
Brent crude futures for October delivery added 0.15% to $87.85 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for September delivery rose 0.29% to $82.37 per barrel. The gains come after oil rose over 5% on Monday.
Trump said Monday the U.S. Navy had swept the Strait of Hormuz clear of mines and now holds “100%” control of the waterway, with reparations emerging as the latest flashpoint between Washington and Tehran.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the U.S. Navy now has full control of the waterway, CBS news reported.
— Lee Ying Shan
Gold climbs as Asia demand bolsters outlook
Spot gold prices rose 0.51% to $4,411 an ounce on Tuesday, while silver jumped over 1% to $65.9 per ounce.
Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at online trading broker XS, said gold’s rally was increasingly being underpinned by structural changes in Asian demand, rather than solely by traditional drivers such as inflation, dollar weakness and geopolitical uncertainty.
“The key question is no longer whether Asian demand for gold will continue, but rather how significantly this demand could reshape the global gold market,” Massabni said in a note late Monday.
He pointed to the expansion of gold trading and storage infrastructure, new investment products and growing exchange-traded fund holdings across Asia as signs that the precious metal was becoming more deeply embedded in regional portfolios.
“If this trend continues, I believe we could see a gradual shift in the center of gravity of global gold trading toward the East over the coming years,” Massabni said, adding that easier access to gold through digital banking platforms could broaden the investor base and “provide an additional layer of support for gold demand even during periods of price correction.”
— Lee Ying Shan
Yen gives back half of intervention gains as DBS warns ‘episodic’ action won’t work
The yen traded at 159.24 against the dollar on Tuesday, having surrendered about half of the gains from the recent U.S.-Japan intervention to support it.
DBS economists said the yen’s renewed weakness underscored the limits of intervention, particularly as the currency has failed to benefit from a narrowing in U.S.-Japan interest-rate differentials.
Between October 2025 and July, the rate spread narrowed by about 75 basis points, yet the yen weakened roughly 10%, the bank noted. “Perhaps the spread needs to narrow further, perhaps more market friendly measures are needed to bring back resident flows to Japan,” DBS said in a note dated Tuesday.
“Episodic interventions will not do the trick, in our view.”
— Lee Ying Shan
Chinese equities look attractive from a risk-reward perspective: UBS
Chinese equities are becoming attractive as investors rotate into markets that lagged the strong first-half rallies in South Korea and Taiwan, according to UBS Global Wealth Management.
Suresh Tantia, the firm’s head CIO of Asia equity strategy, pointed to renewed flows into Chinese semiconductor stocks and domestically oriented companies, saying that relatively cheap valuations make the market appealing.
“We do think that in the short term, from a risk-reward perspective, it does make a lot of sense for investors to position into China equity market given the cheap valuation,” Tantia told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”
China’s CSI 300 was down 0.46%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was little changed on Tuesday.
— Lee Ying Shan
Anthropic reportedly inks $9 billion deal with Riot Platforms, Bloomberg reports
Anthropic, the company behind AI product Claude, reportedly struck a deal worth $9 billion with Riot Platforms, a digital infrastructure and bitcoin mining company, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report said the deal highlighted Anthropic’s efforts to secure enough computing capacity to meet its customers’ demand.
Riot disclosed earlier on Monday that it had secured a 20-year data center lease deal to supply 191 megawatts of capacity from its Rockdale campus to a “leading frontier AI” company.
Riot shares fell 5.46% in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.
— Jenny Lee
South Korean stocks open lower, Aussie shares edge higher
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Tuesday, as worries of a prolonged disruption to energy flows via the Hormuz Strait take hold.
The Kospi was down 0.76%, while the small-cap Kosdaq lost 1.4%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.15%.
Japan markets were closed for the holiday.
— Lee Ying Shan
Asia markets set for subdued open as hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal fade
Asia-Pacific markets appeared set for a subdued open Tuesday as investors assessed the latest Middle East developments that have sent oil prices higher.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were 25,966, compared to the index’s last close of 25,937.49.
In Australia, futures for the S&P/ASX 200 last traded at 9,178, while the index closed at 9,232.6.
Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
— Lee Ying Shan
Hims & Hers Health falls after posting a quarterly loss
Shares of Hims & Hers Health slipped almost 6% after rising expenses pushed the telehealth company into a second-quarter loss. The company reported a net loss of 37 cents per share, compared with net income of 17 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company raised its full-year revenue outlook, however.
— Yun Li
Riot Platforms shares climb after quarterly report
Riot Platforms shares popped over 12% in extended trading after the crypto miner reported a 14% year-over-year increase in total revenue for the latest quarter.
The company also said it produced 1,587 bitcoin last quarter, compared to 1,426 during the same three-month period in 2025.
— Yun Li
Plug Power shares jump 8% after strong results
Plug Power saw shares jump 8% in extended trading after the electrical equipment manufacturing company posted a narrower-than-expected loss and stronger-than-expected revenue for the latest quarter.
The firm also said it aims to strengthen liquidity through additional non-dilutive financing initiatives this year, including unlocking the incremental proceeds for a $275 million total target through its data center asset monetization initiatives.
— Yun Li
