U.S. stock futures were mixed on Tuesday, as the Nasdaq 100 index advanced, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices fell, following Monday’s lower close.
As the U.S. and Iran attacks continued for the third straight night, U.S. Central Command said that operations were aimed at imposing "a heavy cost" on Iranian forces and reducing their ability to attack commercial shipping and civilians in the Strait of Hormuz.
Responding to President Donald Trump‘s Truth Social post, calling the U.S. the “GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi argued that "Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER.”
Investors await the June consumer price index data scheduled to be released before the market opens. According to FactSet, the median year-over-year estimate for the CPI for June 2026 is 3.8%. If 3.8% is the actual year-over-year increase in the CPI, it will mark a decrease relative to the previous month. However, it will also be above the trailing 12-month average of 3.0%.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.62%, and the two-year bond was at 4.28%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool’s projections show markets pricing a 58.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during July’s meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.29% |
| S&P 500 | -0.08% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.39% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.22% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were mixed in premarket on Tuesday. The SPY was down 0.0047% at $748.82, while the QQQ advanced by 0.47% to $715.08.
Energy, utilities, and financial stocks recorded the biggest gains on Monday, while information technology and communication services stocks closed the session lower, driving U.S. stocks to settle down as the Nasdaq Composite plunged over 400 points during the session amid a surge in oil prices.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -0.26% | 52,498.64 |
| S&P 500 | -0.79% | 7,515.34 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -1.55% | 25,873.18 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.83% | 2,953.17 |
According to the latest LPL Financial commentary, the U.S. economy faces a challenging landscape shaped by “sticky inflation and resilient growth.”
With core inflation holding near 3% and headline numbers pushed higher by energy costs, the Federal Reserve under new Chairman Kevin Warsh is expected to remain on a “prolonged pause,” potentially delivering at most a single rate cut in December.
LPL Research notes that this leaves “a policy environment where exogenous shocks, not just domestic demand, are shaping the inflation trajectory.”
Consequently, LPL Financial expects 10-year Treasury yields to remain range-bound between 4.0% and 4.5% for the remainder of 2026. The corporate bond market is also absorbing a historic, AI-driven borrowing wave from tech giants, which may pressure credit spreads modestly higher without causing broader instability.
For the U.S. stock market, LPL’s Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation Committee maintains a “tactical equity overweight and fixed income underweight.”
This equity optimism reflects an expectation that geopolitical and commodity supply strains will eventually ease, justifying a defensive factor tilt in equities while remaining cautious on rate-sensitive fixed income sectors.
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on this Tuesday.
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 3.86% to hover around $81.16 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.43% to hover around $4,018.22 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.14% lower at the 101.0910 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.81% lower at $62,631.32 per coin over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets were mostly mixed on Tuesday, as Australia’s ASX 200 and India’s Nifty 50 index fell. While China’s CSI 300, South Korea’s Kospi, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices rose. European markets were lower in early trade.
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