MARKET WRAPS
Stocks:
European shares were up Tuesday while oil prices fell further as investors continued to monitor developments in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran agreed to pause hostilities .
Brent crude slid more than 2% to about $84 a barrel after settling 8.7% lower in the previous session.
President Trump said that talks between the U.S. and Tehran were taking place, as Iranian and Omani diplomats worked on an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, semiconductor companies were in the red again on Tuesday as mounting doubts over the cost of the artificial-intelligence boom triggered a selloff.
"Investors remain concerned about the scale of AI-related spending and whether the rapid increase in [capital expenditure] would translate into sufficient returns," said Commerzbank.
U.S. Markets:
Stock futures were mostly lower Tuesday as investors were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday.
Money markets price a 64% chance that interest rates will be held steady and a 36% chance of a 25 basis-point rate rise, according to LSEG.
Forex:
The euro traded steady. The currency is failing to find much support from the pullback in oil prices as markets position for the possibility of the Fed raising interest rates on Wednesday, ING said.
The dollar eased slightly
amid uncertainty over the U.S.-Iran conflict and following renewed calls for interest-rate cuts from President Trump.
Bonds:
Eurozone government bond yields fell in early trade, tracking declines in Treasury yields as oil prices continued to slip amid efforts to find a solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
Treasury yields declined in early trade as oil prices also moved lower, both extending Monday's moves. Higher demand for Treasurys and the decline in oil prices come as U.S.-Iran diplomacy aimed at a short-term solution in the Middle East war has accelerated.
Energy:
Oil prices extended losses as a lull in U.S.-Iran hostilities spurred diplomatic efforts, with Iran and Oman seeking an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Metals:
Gold prices were under renewed pressure, slipping back below $4,100 an ounce as investors await remarks from Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh this week.
Copper
Copper prices fell in early trade on likely profit-taking activities, after the base metal ended higher in the previous session as a pause U.S.-Iran fighting pushed oil prices lower and eased concerns over inflation and growth.
Iron ore
Iron ore futures fell in early trade. The decline is likely due to ongoing oversupply concerns, said ANZ Research.
EMEA HEADLINES
Unilever Raises Outlook After Quarterly Sales Volume Growth Hits 16-year High
Unilever bumped up its outlook for the year after quarterly sales volume growth surged to more than a 16-year high.
The consumer-goods giant's underlying sales growth accelerated to 5.8% in the second quarter-driven by a 5.5% increase in volumes and a 0.2% rise in pricing. It was well above company-compiled estimates, and growth of 3.1% in the same period a year prior.
Philips Shares Fall After Orders Slip
Royal Philips shares fell after the Dutch medical-technology company reported a decline in order intake for the second quarter due to delays in some large North America contracts.
Shares in Philips fell as much as 11% in early European morning trade, wiping out the stock's gains since the start of the year.
Eni to Partner With TotalEnergies on Cyprus Gas Field in Boost for European Energy
Italy's Eni and France's TotalEnergies plan to develop a gas field in Cyprus, proceeding with the offshore project as conflict in the Middle East pushes companies to explore other opportunities.
The companies said Tuesday that they have taken the final investment decision on the deep-water offshore project in the Cronos field. First gas is expected in 2028.
Air Liquide Backs Guidance After Revenue, Margin Improvements
Air Liquide backed its guidance after first-half revenue rose and its margin improved.
The French industrial-gases company said Tuesday that revenue for the first half of 2026 rose 0.8% from the same period a year prior to 13.83 billion euros, equivalent to $15.71 billion. Revenue rose 4.3% excluding currency and energy impacts, and 2.6% on a comparable basis.
GLOBAL NEWS
Oil Extends Fall on Hopes of Hormuz Reopening, But Chip Selloff Deepens
Oil prices extended losses as a pause in fighting between the U.S. and Iran held, while U.S. tech futures fell as a chip selloff continued.
U.S. President Trump said that talks between the U.S. and Tehran are taking place, as Iranian and Omani diplomats worked on an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude fell further below $87 a barrel in response, while U.S. Treasurys strengthened and the dollar fell.
Korean Stocks Tumble on Doubts Over AI, Leading Asian Equities Lower
South Korean shares were hammered by growing concerns over spending linked to the artificial-intelligence boom, leading the region's stock markets lower.
Chip and technology stocks in Asia were dragged by sharp losses overnight for U.S. chip stocks, as investors grow increasingly concerned that high capital expenditure on artificial intelligence may not lead to profits for a long time.
Iran and Oman Seek Agreement on Hormuz in Bid to Jumpstart Peace Talks
A lull in fighting between the U.S. and Iran has accelerated diplomacy aimed at a short-term fix for the most contentious issue of the war-restarting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and Oman huddled throughout the weekend and into Monday to hammer out an arrangement for ships to safely pass through a waterway that carried 20% of the world's oil production before the war slowed traffic to a crawl.
Kevin Warsh Wanted a 'Good Family Fight' at the Fed. He's Getting One.
On the evening of June 15, before the first day of his first policy meeting as Federal Reserve chairman, Kevin Warsh sat down to dinner with the 18 officials who set interest rates alongside him. Gathered around a rectangular table, he announced his plan: five panels of outside experts would spend the next few months examining how the Fed reads the economy and explains itself.
Governor Christopher Waller, a former economics professor with a reputation for saying what others won't, put Warsh on the spot, according to several people familiar with the dinner. What's the point of all this, he asked. Tell me who you're putting on these groups, he said, and I'll tell you what they'll say. There were no brilliant ideas out there that everyone had somehow missed.
Iran and Oman Seek Agreement on Hormuz in Bid to Jumpstart Peace Talks
A lull in fighting between the U.S. and Iran has accelerated diplomacy aimed at a short-term fix for the most contentious issue of the war-restarting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and Oman huddled throughout the weekend and into Monday to hammer out an arrangement for ships to safely pass through a waterway that carried 20% of the world's oil production before the war slowed traffic to a crawl.
Western Powers Race to Bring the Production of Explosives Back Home
The business of explosives is booming as Western governments unleash spending to bring production home.
At least 24 new projects are under way for propellants or explosives across NATO countries, according to information assembled by The Wall Street Journal. Three new factories are set for just Arkansas, a center of U.S. weapons production.
Impressed by Ukraine's Battlefield Gains, Trump Warms to Zelensky
WASHINGTON-For more than a year, President Trump insisted in private conversations with advisers that Ukraine was losing the war.
But in recent weeks, the president has expressed fresh optimism about Ukraine and its leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, according to people who have spoken to him. Trump, the people said, has been impressed with Zelensky's resilience as he takes the fight deep into Russian territory.
Trump Turns Up the Heat on RFK Jr. to Cut Back Childhood Vaccines
WASHINGTON-At a May lunch at the president's golf course in northern Virginia, President Trump asked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., why he wasn't doing more to probe the alleged connection between vaccines and autism, according to people familiar with the matter. The health secretary had the yips, Trump told Kennedy, according to one of the people.
Kennedy was taken aback. Even though he has long been known to be skeptical of vaccinations, he had been asked by White House political advisers to tone down his vaccine efforts ahead of the midterms, the people said.
Write to priscila.barrera@wsj.com
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 28, 2026 05:01 ET (09:01 GMT)
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