S&P 500 Edges Up 0.2% as Oil Tops $93 and Earnings Test AI Valuations
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jul 21
S&P 500 Edges Up 0.2% as Oil Tops $93 and Earnings Test AI Valuations
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jul 21
Summary
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Dow added 185 points, while the Nasdaq hovered near flat as investors balanced a fresh oil spike against a heavy earnings slate.
Brent crude climbed 2% above $93 a barrel—briefly topping $95—after the 11th straight round of U.S. strikes against Iran, reviving worries that energy costs could keep inflation high.
Fed-rate concerns stayed in focus, with futures implying a 31% chance of a hike this month and a 74% chance of at least a quarter-point increase in September.
Alphabet, Tesla, IBM, ServiceNow and Texas Instruments were due later Wednesday, with investors looking for signs that AI and cloud spending can sustain rich tech valuations into the second half.
Single-stock moves reflected that scrutiny: Super Micro jumped 24% after citing more than $60 billion in new orders, AT&T gained 3% on an earnings beat, and GE Vernova fell 5% after missing estimates.