[New York Stock Market] Major Earnings Caution, Surging Oil Prices Lead to Lower Close

On July 22 (local time), the New York stock market closed lower amid concerns about inflation caused by a sharp rise in international oil prices and ongoing uncertainty surrounding the earnings of major companies such as Tesla and Alphabet.

On this day at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 6.06 points (0.01%) to close at 52,218.58. The S&P 500 Index dropped by 10.24 points (0.14%) to 7,498.96, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index declined by 146.30 points (0.57%) to end at 25,690.90.

New York Stock Exchange. New York, USA – Photo by Yoonju Hwang

With the second quarter earnings announcements for major companies approaching, investors exercised caution. In particular, it was critical to see whether Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Tesla could prove the profitability of their investments in artificial intelligence (AI).

Alphabet's earnings, released after the market closed, exceeded market expectations. The company posted $119.8 billion in revenue for the second quarter of 2026. However, as a result of investment in AI infrastructure, its cash flow turned negative.

Tesla’s revenue during the same period surpassed projections, but earnings per share (EPS) fell short of expectations. Due to increased investments in its autonomous ride-sharing service ‘robotaxi’ and AI infrastructure, its free cash flow was reported at negative $1.09 billion.

Heightened geopolitical instability in the Middle East pushed international oil prices higher for a fourth consecutive day, dampening investor sentiment. On this day, the September West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures price rose 2.95% from the previous session to $86.83 per barrel, while September Brent crude oil futures surged 3.36% to settle at $94.07 per barrel.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, had signed the so-called ‘123 Agreement’—a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement—as well as an accompanying bilateral agreement on nuclear safeguards. Although the specific details of the agreement were not disclosed, some analysts say it could potentially pave the way for Saudi Arabia to enrich and reprocess nuclear material domestically, which could, in turn, open the door to producing weapons-grade nuclear material.

As concerns over inflation grew due to the surge in oil prices, yields on U.S. Treasury bonds also climbed. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose by 3 basis points (1bp = 0.01 percentage points) to 4.657%, while the 2-year Treasury yield increased by 4 basis points to 4.301%. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which sets the policy rate, is scheduled to meet next week (July 28–29).

According to FedWatch from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the probability of the Fed raising interest rates at the policy meeting on July 28–29 climbed from about 10% as of July 16 to around 34% by the afternoon of July 22.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.