[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Oil prices top $90 as U.S. strikes Iran for 10th night
Brent crude rises 2.2% to $91.22 a barrel
| Updated:
Key Takeaways:
- Oil prices climbed as the U.S. announced another round of strikes targeting Iran for a 10th straight night.
- Iran’s interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a main mediator, for talks, but it’s still unclear if a new deal may be reached.
- World shares mostly gained and U.S. futures advanced on July 21.
NEW YORK — More gains for makers of computer chips and other winners of the artificial intelligence boom are carrying Wall Street higher on July 21.
The gains came despite more climbs for oil prices, and Brent crude oil topped $90 per barrel because of continued attacks between the United States and Iran. It rose 2.2% to $91.22, up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran began.
READ MORE: Goldman says Brent may top $120 if Hormuz disruptions persist
Early July 21, Iran attacked another tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil and gas transport. The U.S. announced another round of strikes targeting Iran for a 10th straight night. Iran has been retaliating against the U.S. strikes by targeting U.S. allies across the Middle East.
As the U.S. and Iran traded fire, Iran’s interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a main mediator, for talks, but it’s still unclear if a new deal may be reached.
“There’s some hope of de-escalation between the U.S. and Iran,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a commentary July 21. “This won’t be an easy task. Large divisions remain between the U.S. and Iran.”
Today at 4 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began a new round of strikes against Iran at the Commander in Chief's direction. The strikes are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 20, 2026
The rise in oil prices is threatening a reacceleration of inflation, just as it was slowing more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.
A naval blockade by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis against Saudi Arabia has increased risks to oil supplies, they said.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 219 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.
AI stocks were once again at the center of the action, and they were rising for a second straight day after tumbling the week before.
After rocketing higher because of the boom in investment in AI chips and data centers, they’ve come under pressure in recent weeks on worries that they shot too high. Concerns are also rising that AI investments may fall off if they don’t produce as much profit and productivity as promised.
Micron Technology jumped 7.8% and added to its 1.9% gain from the day before, coming off its 13.3% drop from last week.
Nvidia added 1.5% after disclosing that it owns 9.3% of the stock of Nebius, a Dutch AI cloud company. Nvidia and Micron were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.62% from 4.60% late July 20 and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began.
On Wall Street, several stronger-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies helped stocks to rise even with that added pressure.
3M climbed 8.7% after topping analysts’ expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter. It also raised its forecast for profit over the full year of 2026.
Hasbro jumped 11.6% after the toy maker said its Magic: The Gathering game topped $500 million in revenue for a quarter for the first time. It also raised its revenue forecast for the year.
They helped offset a drop for Danaher, which slid 13.9% even though it likewise topped analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue. Analysts pointed to its forecast for an underlying measure of revenue growth for the summer, which was slower than Wall Street expected.
Alex Fraser of Cox Fleet discusses how fleets should respond as roadside breakdowns test their safety, compliance and customer service systems all at once. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
Companies are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profit and revenue because of how high their stock prices have shot. Indexes are near their records, even with the recent shakiness for AI stocks.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe amid mostly modest movements. The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 added 0.2% as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosted his first Cabinet meeting.
In Asia, stocks swung more. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.6% on strong gains for its two dominant stocks. Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been big beneficiaries of the AI boom, and the Kospi has soared 60% so far this year even though it’s dropped 20% in July.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 3.3% after returning from the July 20 holiday, while indexes rose 1.8% in Shanghai and edged down by less than 0.1% in Hong Kong.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
