[New York Stock Exchange] Oil Prices Fall on Easing Middle East Tensions... Stocks Rise Across the Board

Awaiting FOMC Decision and Big Tech Earnings Announcements

On the 27th (local time), the three major U.S. stock indices are all rising as international oil prices decline due to easing tensions in the Middle East.

As of 10:00 a.m. at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 422.85 points (0.81%) from the previous trading day, standing at 52,370.10. The S&P 500 index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, is up 29.65 points (0.41%) to 7,441.64, while the Nasdaq, which focuses on technology stocks, is rising 84.71 points (0.31%) to 25,060.23.

Today’s market is being buoyed by a fall in oil prices as tensions in the Middle East ease. The price of Brent crude futures, which serve as the global benchmark, dropped 6.4% to around $90.60 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 5.7% to $84.10 per barrel.

However, a series of variables that could impact the market are still looming this week. Quarterly earnings announcements are scheduled for Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. Depending on the results, investors’ concerns about surging investments in artificial intelligence (AI) could ease, or, as in the case after Alphabet’s disappointing results last week, such concerns could even intensify.

Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, stated, “The biggest risk is that spending continues,” adding, “The issue is that if companies scale back spending a bit or slow the growth rate in response to shareholders’ concerns, there could be a strong backlash from the market.”

Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve will determine its benchmark interest rate. Market experts expect the Fed to raise rates in September. However, according to FedWatch, the market is currently pricing in more than a 30% chance that the benchmark interest rate will be raised by 0.25 percentage points within this week.

Looking at top stocks by market capitalization, Apple is up 1.04%, Microsoft 2.71%, Amazon 1.11%, Alphabet 2.97%, and Meta 2.27%. In contrast, Nvidia is down 2.86%, TSMC 1.43%, and Broadcom 0.10%.

Meanwhile, the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) hit an all-time high during early trading. The ETF climbed more than 1%, surpassing its previous closing high of 56.75 set on July 16, and was trading at 57.05 as of 9:50 a.m.

This new high, according to CNBC, signals a rebound after the ETF had fallen more than 15% from its January high through late March—when the U.S.-Iran war drove the market to its lowest point of the year.

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