Oil Back Above $85 a barrel, U.S. Stock Futures Mixed

By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

Brent crude oil rose back above $85 a barrel for the first time in a month in early European trade following the third straight night of U.S. attacks on Iran, and its renewed blockade on Iranian trade.

Oil rose sharply on the escalation, while investors brace themselves for further disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump said the U.S. would charge trips transiting the strait 20% of every cargo shipment to compensate for American protection.

In equity markets, U.S. tech futures largely rose after heavy selling Monday, though futures for the S&P 500 edged lower. The mixed picture follows a limited recovery in AI-related stocks in Asia.

Focus Tuesday is on U.S. consumer price index data ahead of Kevin Warsh's appearance before Congress. The inflation print--and the Federal reserve chair's response to it--will help shape investors' expectations for the Fed's rate-setting path. The dollar is steady ahead of the release.

Several Wall street banks report earnings Tuesday, including JPMorgan and Bank of America.

--In early European trading on Tuesday, Brent crude oil rose 3.5% to $86.23 a barrel, while the U.S. oil gauge West Texas Intermediate gained 3.2% to $80.65 a barrel. Both contracts surged nearly 10% in the previous session. "The return of the U.S. blockade is much more impactful for markets than the previous suspension of the sanction waiver on Iranian oil," analysts at ING said. "The memorandum of understanding is starting to look well and truly dead."

--In the U.S., futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2%. Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%, recouping some of the last session's losses. As well as JPMorgan and Bank of America, earnings reports will come from Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo Tuesday.

--Moves in Asian markets were mixed in the afternoon after starting the day largely in the red. Selling in the South Korean stock market eased in the afternoon, with the benchmark Kospi index reversing losses to trade 0.7% higher. Chip-making index heavyweight SK Hynix rose 3.7% while fellow chip-making giant Samsung Electronics rose 3.3% after Monday's heavy losses. Taiwan's Taiex fell 1.6% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Singapore's FTSE Straits Times Index each rose 0.3%. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.9% while Japan's Nikkei Stock Average traded flat.

--European indexes slid at the open as inflation fears weighed on stocks dependent on consumer spending. Travel and leisure stocks fell on Mideast escalation as the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 slipped 0.5%. The CAC 40 slid 0.6% in Paris. French luxury stocks weakened, with sector bellwether LVMH dropping 2.2%. Germany's DAX was 0.5% lower, with Adidas losing 1.6% and carmaker BMW down 1.3%. London's FTSE 100 was flat, as oil majors once again cushioned the index's losses. BP rose 2.7% after reporting oil-trading gains for the second quarter, while Shell lifts 1.6%. InterContinental Hotels Group falls 3%. Italy's FTSE MIB is 0.3% lower. The Spanish IBEX 35 loses 0.7%, with British Airways-owner IAG falling 2.4%. In Amsterdam, the semiconductor-heavy AEX is flat as large AI-related stocks pare Monday's losses.

--The dollar traded steady as investors await U.S. inflation data and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's testimony before Congress. The data at 1230 GMT and Warsh's testimony at 1400 GMT will be key for shaping monetary policy expectations, Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar said in a note. Warsh will probably try to sound credible and stress that the Fed will respond to incoming data and inflation risks, he said. It's too soon for the recent rise in oil prices to feed meaningfully into inflation data, he said. The DXY dollar index traded flat at 101.222.

--U.S. Treasury yields rose in overnight trading, driven by higher oil prices. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.634%, an almost eight-week high, before retreating to 4.620%, still up 1.2 basis points on the day. The two-year Treasury yield hit an intraday high of 4.294%, the highest since February 2025, before easing back to 4.283%. "Investors still expect the Middle East situation to find a resolution rather than spill back into an all-out conflict," said Navellier & Associates' Louis Navellier in a note.

--Eurozone government bond yields rose in early trade, with the 10-year German Bund yield hitting an eight-week high of 3.114%, up around 4 basis points on the day.

--Bitcoin rose marginally but continued to trade in a narrow range ahead of U.S. inflation data. "Bitcoin has been boxed in the same range since mid-June, resistance at $64,441 capping every rally, support at $58,457 absorbing the selling, and the renewed Iran tensions haven't broken it either way," Nexo analyst Dessislava Ianeva said in a note. Bitcoin rose 0.8% to $62,619, LSEG data show.

--Gold prices rose as the crude rally reinforced inflation concerns. In early trading, New York futures were up 0.5% to $4,024.90 a troy ounce. "Gold remains vulnerable around the $4,000/oz level, with the market closely watching developments around the Strait of Hormuz and their implications for energy prices, inflation and interest rates," ING analysts said.

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 14, 2026 04:31 ET (08:31 GMT)