To The Moon

U.S. stock markets opened with mixed results on Tuesday evening, Beijing time. Traders were assessing a wave of corporate earnings reports and a rise in oil prices. Shares of IBM tumbled following a profit warning. The U.S. Consumer Price Index for June rose 3.5% year-over-year, coming in below expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 102.53 points, or 0.20%, to 52,396.11. The S&P 500 index gained 23.49 points, or 0.31%, to 7,538.83. The Nasdaq Composite rose 134.13 points, or 0.52%, to 26,007.31.

Shares of International Business Machines Corp (IBM) dropped nearly 21% after the company released preliminary second-quarter results showing earnings per share of $2.93 (excluding certain items), missing the FactSet consensus estimate of $3.01.

Several major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup, also reported their second-quarter results, with their stock prices trading in negative territory. Goldman Sachs posted results that exceeded expectations, and its shares rose more than 1%.

Semiconductor stocks rebounded following a sell-off in the previous session. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF was up more than 2% in pre-market trading. Applied Materials gained over 4%, while Lam Research, STMicroelectronics, Teradyne, and Micron Technology all rose more than 3%.

On Monday, major U.S. stock market benchmarks declined after former President Donald Trump stated he would reimpose a blockade on Iranian shipping through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

"We are reimposing the 'Iranian Blockade,' so named because it only prevents Iranian vessels or their customers from transiting," Trump posted on Truth Social.

Following Trump's announcement, oil prices surged and stocks fell on Monday. Brent crude soared over 9%, marking its largest single-day gain since 2020. On Tuesday, U.S. crude oil prices surpassed $80 per barrel, last trading up 2% for the day. The international benchmark Brent crude futures rose 2% to above $86 per barrel.

On the economic data front Tuesday, the U.S. Consumer Price Index for June increased 3.5% from a year ago, lower than the average estimate of 3.8% from analysts surveyed by Dow Jones, primarily due to a drop in energy prices last month.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is also scheduled to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as part of his two-day "Humphrey-Hawkins" testimony on monetary policy. This marks the first semi-annual report submission to Congress for the new Fed chair.