Business & Markets
Wall Street closes higher after US inflation report
Wall Street stocks closed higher on Wednesday after another reassuring US inflation report, while oil prices edged up after the latest escalation in fighting between the United States and Iran.
Major US indexes recovered from a midday move into negative territory. Technology giants helped the gains, with Apple, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta rising three percent or more. The S&P 500 ended up 0.4 percent at 7,572.40, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent to 52,658.64, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6 percent to 26,269.23.
US producer prices fell 0.3 percent month-on-month in June, reflecting lower energy prices during hopes for a settlement in the Middle East conflict. The producer price report followed Tuesday data showing consumer prices rose less than expected.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the market appeared to take comfort from the producer price data after Tuesday's consumer price report. He said the market was still trading sideways near all-time highs but had not yet broken out.
Oil prices rose as the United States launched a wave of strikes against Iran. Iran has vowed to shut the Strait of Hormuz again, a waterway important to global oil and gas flows. Traffic through the strait remained low, with maritime tracker Kpler reporting 21 transits on Tuesday.
Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics said Wednesday's US inflation report was broadly reassuring, but warned that it would take several more months to know how much higher energy prices would feed into consumer prices.
The report said the United States and Iran had resumed fighting, with strikes on targets across the region, nearly a month after signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the Middle East war.
PayPal led Wall Street risers, gaining more than 17 percent after reports that payments firm Stripe and private equity group Advent International made a joint offer to buy the digital payments company. The reported deal was worth $53 billion, with an offer of $60.50 a share.
SpaceX closed down 0.6 percent at $135.27 after earlier falling below its market debut price of $135 for the first time.
In Europe, London and Frankfurt ended lower, while Paris posted a small gain. The FTSE 100 slipped less than 0.1 percent to 10,515.92, the CAC 40 rose 0.2 percent to 8,382.43, and the DAX fell 0.6 percent to 24,999.53.
Asian markets were mixed. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.5 percent to 68,751.51. Seoul's Kospi jumped 6.2 percent to 7,284.41 after an 8.8 percent rally in chipmaker SK hynix. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.4 percent to 24,618.10, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 percent to 3,955.58.
In currency markets, the pound rose more than one percent against the dollar after reports that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was a frontrunner to become the next finance minister, ahead of some other candidates seen as less reassuring to markets. The euro rose to $1.1463 from $1.1420 on Tuesday. The pound rose to $1.3530 from $1.3390. The dollar rose to 162.27 yen from 162.25 yen. The euro fell to 84.72 pence from 85.28 pence.
Brent North Sea crude rose 0.3 percent to $84.95 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate also rose 0.3 percent to $79.60 a barrel.
Update
Wall Street indexes closed higher after moving briefly into negative territory during the session.
The S&P 500 closed up 0.4 percent, the Dow up 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6 percent.
The US producer price index fell 0.3 percent month-on-month in June.
Apple, Amazon and Meta rose three percent or more.
Oil prices edged higher after the United States launched strikes against Iran and Iran vowed to shut the Strait of Hormuz again.
Kpler reported only 21 transits through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
PayPal rose more than 17 percent on reports of a joint takeover offer from Stripe and Advent International worth a reported $53 billion.
SpaceX fell 0.6 percent to $135.27 after briefly dropping below its market debut price of $135.
The pound rose more than one percent against the dollar after reports that Shabana Mahmood was a frontrunner to become the next finance minister.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 20:25:17 UTC.
Update
Wall Street was higher two hours into trading, while technology shares turned lower overall on Wall Street.
Brent crude was down 1.2 percent and West Texas Intermediate was down 0.8 percent around 1530 GMT.
Oil prices slipped despite fresh US attacks on Iran and President Donald Trump reimposing a naval blockade of ships to and from Iranian ports.
PayPal shares rose as much as 13 percent on reports of a $53 billion joint offer from Stripe and Advent International.
London and Frankfurt closed lower, while Paris closed slightly higher.
Seoul's Kospi closed up 6.2 percent after an 8.8 percent rally in SK hynix.
The Philadelphia semiconductor sector index was down more than four percent.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 16:13:08 UTC.
Update
Wall Street stocks rose early Wednesday after the US producer price index fell 0.3 percent month-on-month in June.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow was up 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 was up 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq was up 0.5 percent.
The item adds Steve Sosnick's assessment that markets were partly looking through the data because energy prices had moved higher since the figures were compiled.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 13:51:23 UTC.
Update
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.6 percent as trading began in New York.
US producer prices fell 0.3 percent month-on-month in June, the first contraction since August 2025, according to the Labor Department.
The dollar was mostly lower as expectations of a US rate hike this month receded.
Oil prices rose after American forces again hit sites in Iran and President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iranian ports.
ASML shares rose more than two percent after the company said AI demand lifted sales forecasts and second-quarter profit.
Updated market figures were supplied for oil, Wall Street, European indices, Asian indices and major currency pairs.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 13:43:30 UTC.
Update
European stock markets retreated as oil prices rose further.
Traders were focused on the Middle East conflict and the technology sector.
Oil prices extended gains after American forces again hit sites in Iran and US President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iranian ports.
Trump reversed threats to impose levies on cargo through the Strait of Hormuz, which the report said provided some support.
ChangXin Memory Technologies is seeking to raise up to $9.8 billion in an initial public offering.
ASML shares rose more than three percent after the company said demand for AI systems raised its sales forecasts and helped second-quarter profits.
Seoul's Kospi closed up 6.2 percent after rising as much as seven percent, helped by an 8.8-percent rally in SK hynix.
Shanghai fell after data showed China's economy grew more slowly than expected in the second quarter.
JP Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo reported higher quarterly profits, while IBM shares fell more than 25 percent after earnings were poorly received.
The report gave mid-session European market levels and oil and currency figures around 1100 GMT.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 11:16:40 UTC.
Update
Seoul's Kospi closed up 6.2 percent after rising as much as seven percent during the session.
SK hynix rose 8.8 percent after losing about 30 percent from a record high last month.
ASML reported higher second-quarter net profit and raised its full-year sales forecast.
London, Paris and Frankfurt fell in early trade.
IBM fell more than 25 percent after disappointing preliminary second-quarter results, which it linked to changed customer spending before expected higher prices for memory chips and other AI-related infrastructure.
Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh told lawmakers it was too early to celebrate the inflation data and said officials had no tolerance for stubbornly high prices.
The update includes market levels around 0810 GMT for oil, Asian and European indexes, currencies and Wall Street.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 08:24:26 UTC.
Update
Seoul's Kospi closed up 6.2 percent at 7,284.41 after rising as much as seven percent during trading.
SK hynix rose 10 percent after falling about 30 percent from a record high last month.
Oil prices rose again, with WTI up 0.4 percent at $79.62 and Brent up 0.5 percent at $85.19 around 0715 GMT.
The report said American forces again hit Iranian sites and President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iranian ports.
Shanghai fell 0.3 percent after data showed China's economy grew more slowly than expected in the second quarter.
London, Paris and Frankfurt fell in early trade, with the FTSE 100 down 0.6 percent around 0715 GMT.
IBM fell more than 25 percent after preliminary second-quarter results disappointed.
Federal Reserve head Kevin Warsh said it was too early to declare the inflation problem solved and that officials had no tolerance for stubbornly high prices.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 07:36:04 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The reported Stripe and Advent International offer for PayPal was described as based on reports, not as a confirmed completed deal.
The future effect of higher energy prices on consumer prices remained uncertain, according to Samuel Tombs.
Source
AFP news report published on .