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US markets today: Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq rise as oil, inflation and Hormuz tensions keep investors cautious
US stocks rise as Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq gain, while oil prices, Strait of Hormuz tensions and upcoming US inflation data keep investors cautious.
US stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday, with investors watching developments around the Middle East conflict, oil prices and upcoming US inflation data. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 117 points, or 0.2%, shortly after the opening bell.
The stock market remained cautious because of uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz. Investors are weighing signs that the important oil-shipping route could reopen against doubts over whether the US and Iran can reach a wider agreement to end the conflict.
US stocks watch oil prices and Strait of Hormuz
Oil prices remained a major focus for Wall Street. Earlier in the morning, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 2.4% at $84.14 a barrel, while Brent crude gained 2.1% to $89.56 a barrel at 5:45 a.m. ET, according to CNBC.
Oil prices later steadied and moved slightly lower, with WTI near $81 a barrel and Brent around $87 a barrel. The changing oil prices reflected uncertainty over the Middle East situation and the possibility of the Strait of Hormuz reopening.
The Strait of Hormuz is important for global energy markets, so any disruption or reopening can have a major impact on oil prices. Investors are therefore closely watching developments between Iran, Oman and the US. Iran has said it is getting closer to an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, Tehran has continued to reject direct talks with the US until certain conditions are met.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that negotiations with the US cannot restart under the current conditions. He said Iran wants the US to stop violating a June memorandum of understanding and compensate Iran for those violations, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
Nvidia stock gives Nasdaq a boost
Nvidia was one of the biggest boosts for the broader stock market. Nvidia shares gained around 2% as investors continued to react to the company's major artificial intelligence investment plans.
Nvidia announced on Monday that it is working with six major asset managers to help mobilize more than $500 billion in outside capital for AI infrastructure. The six firms are Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs and KKR, according to CNBC.
Nvidia shares had fallen nearly 3% in the previous session, but the stock recovered more than 1% in premarket trading on Tuesday. The rebound helped support technology stocks and the Nasdaq.
US inflation data could move markets
Investors are now looking ahead to important US inflation data. The July Consumer Price Index report is due Wednesday, followed by the Producer Price Index on Thursday. The inflation reports are especially important for the Federal Reserve because the latest jobs report was weak. The slowdown in hiring has raised questions about consumer spending and the overall strength of the US economy.
At the same time, higher oil prices are creating fresh inflation worries. More expensive energy can push up costs for businesses and consumers, making the Fed's interest-rate decisions more difficult.
Markets are therefore facing a tricky situation: the weak jobs market could support lower interest rates, but higher oil prices could keep inflation elevated and make the Fed more cautious. Dennis Follmer, chief investment officer at Montis Financial, expects inflation to continue moving lower. He said this could support the case for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady instead of raising them, despite the weak jobs report, according to CNBC.
Follmer also warned that services inflation could remain sticky. However, he said services inflation is not very sensitive to interest rates, so it should not seriously weaken the case for keeping rates unchanged.
Small business confidence improves
Small-business confidence also improved in July. The National Federation of Independent Business said its Small Business Optimism Index climbed 2.4 points to 99.8, its highest level since August 2025 and above its 52-year average of 98.
Hiring plans were one of the strongest parts of the small-business report. A seasonally adjusted net 20% of small-business owners said they planned to create new jobs over the next three years. That was the highest reading since October 2022 and 9 percentage points higher than June, according to the NFIB. NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg said small businesses expect conditions to improve even though uncertainty remains high.
Best Buy stock gets wall street upgrade
Best Buy also received a positive call from Wall Street. Truist Securities upgraded the consumer electronics retailer to buy from hold and increased its price target to $95 from $81, implying about 15% upside from Monday's closing price, according to CNBC.
Truist said Best Buy could benefit from several trends, including demand to replace older products, internal improvements such as appliance delivery and new product categories linked to artificial intelligence.
Intel stock falls after $20 billion sale
Intel was among the notable stocks moving before the opening bell. The chipmaker increased its planned common stock offering to $20 billion from $15 billion, sending its shares slightly lower. Intel said the money raised through the stock sale will be used for general corporate purposes. The company is looking for additional capital as it continues building out its artificial intelligence computing capacity.
Also read: Intel’s 165% stock surge helps fund $15 billion share sale for AI and chip factories
Hims & Hers stock drops after earnings
Hims & Hers Health shares fell sharply after its latest earnings report. The stock dropped as much as 7% in premarket trading after the telehealth company reported a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss. Hims & Hers revenue increased strongly despite the loss. Revenue jumped 38% from a year earlier to $753 million, but the company reported a net loss of $86.3 million for the quarter ended June, compared with a profit of 17 cents per share a year earlier, as noted by CNBC.
The company is making a major push into weight-loss drugs. Its subscriber base increased 21% during the quarter as customers bought sexual health, skincare, hair-loss and weight-loss treatments. Hims & Hers also saw major growth in its international business. US revenue increased 17%, while international revenue grew more than 17-fold after the company acquired Australian digital health company Eucalyptus in June.
Hims & Hers raised its full-year outlook and expects growth to accelerate in the second half of the year. However, Citi analysts said the company's forecast requires a large improvement in profit during the fourth quarter, leaving significant execution risk.
The company's stock has become closely linked to investor expectations around the GLP-1 weight-loss drug market. Investors are watching whether Hims & Hers can successfully benefit from growing demand for these treatments. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, had previously sued Hims & Hers over patent issues.
Novo Nordisk later dropped the legal action after reaching a deal under which it would sell its branded weight-loss drugs through Hims & Hers' platform, while Hims agreed to stop advertising compounded GLP-1 drugs.
Riot platforms stock jumps 20%
Riot Platforms was another major premarket mover. The crypto mining company jumped nearly 20% after reporting second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations. Riot Platforms reported $174.2 million in second-quarter revenue, compared with the $154.3 million expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet, as stated by CNBC.
Riot also announced a 191-megawatt data-center lease agreement with what it described as a leading frontier AI lab. The deal adds to investor interest in the company's data-center and AI-related opportunities.
Treasury yields rise as investors await Fed data
Treasury yields moved higher as investors watched oil prices and waited for inflation data. The 10-year Treasury yield, an important benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, rose 3 basis points to 4.7334% in early trading. The 2-year Treasury yield also increased. It rose by more than 2 basis points to 4.2597%. The 2-year yield is closely watched because it usually moves with expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate decisions.
US stock futures had been mostly quiet before the opening bell. S&P 500 futures were flat, Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.12%, while Dow futures were down 0.1%, according to CNBC. Global markets were mixed. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.73%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.19%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.03%, and China's CSI 300 dropped 0.79%. Japan's markets were closed for a holiday.
European markets were also cautious. The FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX were all slightly below the flatline in early trading as investor optimism about an immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz weakened.
Overall, Wall Street started Tuesday with modest gains rather than a strong rally. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all in positive territory, but investors remained cautious because of oil prices, Middle East tensions and uncertainty over the Fed's next move. The biggest market test now is likely to be the inflation data. Wednesday's CPI and Thursday's PPI could give investors a clearer idea of whether inflation is cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to keep rates steady, especially after the recent weak jobs report.
