Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as Fed rate-hike bets ease, chip stocks rally

US stocks rose as markets assessed a cooler-than-expected consumer inflation report, recalibrated bets on the AI trade, and monitored rising oil prices amid the renewed US-Iran war.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed the session flat. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) picked up a stronger 0.9%.

Investors parsed a softer-than-expected Consumer Price Index report, which showed that inflation rose 3.5% in June on an annualized basis, below economists’ expectations of 3.8%. The print likely takes some pressure off the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy, though the market has still priced in one 25-point rate hike sometime in 2026.

IBM (IBM) shares plunged roughly 25% after the hybrid cloud products provider issued an earnings warning, noting that enterprise clients are shifting spending away from software and mainframes toward AI infrastructure. Semiconductor stocks, including memory makers SK Hynix (SKHY) and Micron (MU) jumped.

A series of second quarter reports from JPMorgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), and Goldman Sachs (GS) showed a robust quarter for Wall Street profits and stock trading.

Oil prices, meanwhile, edged higher after Brent crude futures (BZ=F) notched their biggest single-day jump in years on Monday, with US plans to begin enforcing a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday afternoon in focus. President Trump said he was replacing the 20% cargo fee he announced on Monday with investment deals that would bring money into the US.