Today is following form with yesterday

Briefing.com Summary:

*Follow-through buying interest in the semiconductor stocks has the Nasdaq 100 futures in a lead position.

*The June PPI report produced some encouraging monthly numbers for June.

*Oil prices remain elevated as the U.S. and Iran trade threats and strikes.

The day has changed, but the stock market’s focus remains much the same. Participants are concentrating on oil prices, bond yields, the behavior of the semiconductor stocks, earnings results from the financial sector, and inflation data.

Like yesterday, the market is finding favor in most of it. 

There is a bid in the semiconductor stocks that has been aided by ASML’s (ASML) better-than-expected Q2 results and robust guidance for Q3 and FY26. That is contributing to the outperformance of the Nasdaq 100 futures; meanwhile, strong results from Blackrock (BLK) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are lending support to the broader market, helping to offset some pre-open weakness in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) despite putting up some good numbers of its own.

Speaking of good numbers, the June Producer Price Index held serve with the June Consumer Price Index in providing some sense of inflation relief. 

Total PPI decreased 0.3% month-over-month in June (Briefing.com consensus: 0.1%) following a downwardly revised 0.6% increase (from 1.1%) in May. The June drop was driven by a 1.4% decline in prices for final demand goods, which was paced by a 6.4% decline in prices for final demand energy. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was up 0.2% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%) following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase (from 0.4%) in May.

On a year-over-year basis, total PPI was up 5.5% versus 6.0% in May, and core PPI was up 4.7% versus 4.6% in May.

The key takeaway from the report is that it is an encouraging monthly marker of how the inflation data can improve with a decline in energy prices; however, it also reveals on a year-over-year basis that wholesalers are still dealing with high prices. Net-net, this report conveys the need for more improvement in bringing down wholesale prices, but it was better-than-feared when also factoring in the downward revisions to the prior month.

The equity futures market, like yesterday, saw a burst of buying energy in its wake, and the Treasury market, like yesterday, saw a downturn in yields after the PPI release. The 2-yr note yield is down three basis points to 4.16%, and the 10-yr note yield is down two basis points to 4.57%.

Currently, the S&P 500 futures are up 21 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 197 points and are trading 0.7% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 118 points and are trading 0.3% above fair value.

Oil prices remain elevated as hostilities and threats between the U.S. and Iran have increased, but for the most part, oil prices are being held in check by a supposition that President Trump’s combative rhetoric is more of a negotiating strategy than a precursor to hard-line military action that would destroy Iran’s oil infrastructure. WTI crude futures are up 0.5% to $79.75/bbl.

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Originally Posted July 15, 2026 – Today is following form with yesterday