US equities were trading mixed early on Wednesday evening, Beijing time. Rising oil prices exerted pressure on the major indexes. Investors continued to focus on another busy day for corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 203.03 points, or 0.39%, to 52,427.67. The Nasdaq Composite fell 55.13 points, or 0.21%, to 25,782.07. The S&P 500 index gained 2.22 points, or 0.03%, to 7,511.42.
Brent crude futures advanced 4%, trading above $94 per barrel to hit their highest level in over a month and briefly touching $95. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 3%, surpassing $87 per barrel.
The oil price increase coincided with the 11th consecutive round of US strikes against Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Iran was "not serious about negotiations."
He said, "If they are serious, we are serious. If they are not serious, then we will take the necessary measures to protect our interests and the interests of our allies."
Rubio also indicated that US forces would continue to "protect shipping" in the Strait of Hormuz.
Traders are closely monitoring oil prices, concerned they could keep consumer goods prices elevated—a factor that might prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
As of Wednesday morning, traders in the federal funds futures market priced in a 27% probability of a Fed rate hike this month. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders also assigned a 70% chance of at least a 25-basis-point rate increase in September.
Corporate earnings were again a focal point on Wednesday, with reports due from ServiceNow, International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Tesla Inc (TSLA), Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN), and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL). Investors will be scrutinizing updates on artificial intelligence spending, cloud demand, enterprise technology budgets, and the outlook for the second half of the year.
As earnings season accelerates, investors remain focused on whether robust demand for AI infrastructure and software will continue to support the high valuations in the technology sector.
Julia Herman, Global Market Strategist at New York Life Investments, commented: "The Q2 earnings season is heating up, but with most hyperscalers yet to report, the market is still waiting for a clear read on how AI investments are monetizing and translating into future capital expenditure."
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