Finance

Back-to-back tamer inflation readings from both the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index have comforted financial markets. The cooling data has led traders to heavily adjust their expectations, with the majority now betting the Federal Reserve will pause interest rate hikes at its upcoming September meeting. However, policymakers remain divided, and some market experts still forecast another potential rate hike later in the year.

Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate futures both declined by roughly 2%, trading around $87 and $81 per barrel, respectively. The drop comes as the market evaluates weaker demand alongside changing approaches to the conflict in Iran, with a focus shifting toward economic leverage. Analysts note that the energy price shocks have not yet spilled over to broadly inflate the costs of other consumer goods.

Heavyweight technology and semiconductor shares provided significant support to the broader indexes, pushing the PHLX Semiconductor Index toward a new bull market. Companies like SanDisk saw massive gains, surging nearly 15% in a single session. Conversely, fashion group Tapestry experienced a steep decline of over 15% due to growth concerns for its Coach brand, despite reporting quarterly earnings that aligned with estimates.