During the week, the market digested…

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Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend.

CV

Let’s follow up on our initial comments about Applied Materials (AMAT) and corresponding pullback in the shares on Friday morning.

As we suspected could happen, despite posting a top- and bottom-line July quarter beat and offering guidance that was ahead of the market consensus,…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a mixed start for the final trading day of the week.

1. The US will soon announce unprecedented economic measures against Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, intensifying the Trump administration’s effort to force Tehran’s capitulation after almost six months of war. (Bloomberg)

As the Trump administration looks to tighten pressures on Iran, a move that aims to get peace talks back on track, the barometer we’re watching, the flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a positive start to the trading day. Given the timing of Thursday’s July PPI report, you will want to revisit those equity futures before the market open.

1. Treasuries advanced and stocks traded near record highs as oil prices fell and traders awaited US producer-price data for further clues on the path of Federal Reserve interest rates… Attention later in the day will turn to producer price data, which can serve as a leading indication of consumer inflation. Traders will also be watching the results of a 30-year Treasury auction, with the $25 billion offering tipped to price at the highest interest rate in 25 years… (Bloomberg)

The Strait of Hormuz is “under Iran’s ‌control and management” according to…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a positive start to the trading day.

1. President Donald Trump claimed the US had “total control over the Hormuz Strait,” as Washington and Tehran hardened their positions in deadlocked negotiations over the critical waterway. “We own it,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington late Tuesday, an assertion Iran has dispelled via intermittent attacks on ships transiting the passage. “At some point, maybe they’ll do something, and then they get blown away.” (Bloomberg)

The tally of vessels tracked in the Strait of Hormuz fell to a one-week low of eight on Tuesday, ‌shipping data showed, as owners avoided the key waterway amid continued hostilities in the Middle East. The United States and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks as prospects appeared to dim for an end to the Iran war, with Tehran saying the strait would stay closed unless Washington accepted its conditions. (Reuters)

In reading the above…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a mixed market open later this morning.

1. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday responded to Iran’s conditions for a peace deal with his own demands that Iran pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests, in a rhetorical escalation likely to complicate efforts to reopen the Strait of ‌Hormuz. Trump’s proposal, which had not been raised before, was a response to Tehran’s demands for compensation and an end to sanctions. (Reuters)

The hardening positions on both sides..

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a mixed start to the trading week.

1. Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions, including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats, before the strategic waterway is reopened. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump signaled he’s prepared to let economic pressure on Iran build…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start trading Thursday. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a weak start to the trading day.

1.Yemen’s Houthi militia attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in a military operation, the group said on Thursday, and a Saudi news agency later confirmed one of the two vessels was ablaze after an assault while sailing in the Red Sea. (Reuters) The U.S. is surging forces, medics and weaponry to the Middle East to give President Trump more muscular military options as he considers expanding the conflict against Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. (WSJ) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a diplomatic gathering in Southeast Asia the price Iran pays “will get higher every night” until Tehran is ready for a peace deal it would live by. (Reuters)

While we remain hopeful for an eventual settlement, all signs point…

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Earlier today, I sat down with the NYSE’s Ashley Mastronardi to discuss what TheStreet Pro Portfolio will be focusing on this week amid June inflation data and quarterly results on Tuesday from JPMorgan (JPM), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS) and the portfolio’s Bank of America (BAC).

I explained why we think Q2 2026 results from those big banks as well as Morgan Stanley (MS) on Wednesday should be solid. We also call out what the market is going to focus on in their comments about the back half of 2026.

While the market focuses on those results in the very near-term, we discussed why quarterly results and guidance from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) could be even more important for the market. And when it comes to renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran, he explained why the duration of that is what he’s focusing on as he gets ready for this week’s June Consumer and Producer Price Indices.

Note: Chris’ conversation with Ashley starts near the 2:10 mark, and runs through 8:35

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, equity futures point to a weak start for U.S. listed equities.

1. U.S. and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting U.S. facilities in states across the Gulf ​on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz. The renewed violence casts further doubt…

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The first full week of trading for the new quarter had a little of everything: a geopolitical shock, a hawkish turn in Fed expectations, a marquee IPO, and another leg up in the AI trade. By Friday’s close, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had both notched gains of roughly 1% to 2% on the week, and the Dow squeezed out a fresh record close near 53,000. That came in the face of one of the market’s worst single sessions of the summer on Wednesday.

One factor that pushed the market and the Pro Portfolio higher week over week was…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a positive start to trading later on Tuesday morning.

1. Iran reiterated its determination to control maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes ahead of fresh talks in Qatar on formally ending its war with the US. (Bloomberg)

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz picked up for the first time…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of trading Monday. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a positive start to the final trading days in June.

1. U.S. markets were heading for gains early Monday with investors cheered by news that Washington and Tehran had agreed to halt strikes in the Strait of Hormuz. Technology stocks looked set to lead the way… The U.S. and Iran have agreed to end days of low-level fighting around the Strait of Hormuz and resume peace talks, The Wall Street Journal reported ...

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While the market got off to a rocky start in June, it recovered from that minor setback over the ensuing weeks, only to see the month-to-date gains evaporate and then some this week. Questions over potential Fed rate hikes, despite continued declines in oil prices, renewed squabbles in the Strait of Hormuz, skepticism over AI chip demand, and OpenAI contemplating moving its IPO to 2027 were all factors.

To that, we can add Apple (AAPL) announcing price increases across several product lines as it contends with the rise in memory and other key components. Efforts to prepare for the reconstitution of FTSE Russel indices after Friday’s market close likely added to things as well.

Coming into the week, we said that we would be closely watching…

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The calls by folks to discuss the Pro Portfolio’s position in Palantir (PLTR) have not gone unnoticed, and after clearing our desk of this morning’s comments and the May Durable Goods report, let’s get into it.

As we do, let’s first set the backdrop for the conversation, and that is PLTR shares and their move lower joined by many others in the software space. We see that firsthand with the drop in the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), which is down more than 20% from its recent peak. The difference in the beta figures for IGV at 1.12 and Palantir’s 1.51 helps explain…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of trading Thursday. As we share this collection of market drivers, futures point to a positive start to the trading day.

1. Oil prices fell on Thursday to levels last seen before the start of the Iran ‌war as expectations of rising supply from the Middle East outweighed demand concerns… U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a forum that flows through the Strait of Hormuz were ​close to those before the start of the Iran war, with at least 20 million barrels ⁠having exited the strait in the last 24 hours. (Reuters)

Welcome news, but…

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These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of trading Wednesday. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures point to a mixed market open later.

1. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures ​inched higher on Wednesday after two straight sessions of declines, as investors returned to technology shares ‌following a sharp selloff that saw the Nasdaq 100 lose over $1 trillion in market value. Concerns over lofty hyperscaler spending through debt-funding and expectations of a more hawkish Federal Reserve drove the fall after a huge run-up in AI names that aided all ​three major indexes to record highs. (Reuters)

Yesterday, we discussed why we would be closely watching the 50-day moving average levels for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. While the S&P 500 closed…

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Chris Versace joins Schwab Network’s Sam Veda to break down the recent drop in oil prices, inflation implications, and what flash PMI data is signaling. Chris also shares why we could see improving inflation data in the months ahead, including lower output prices.

Joining the debate is Joe Rinaldi, President & Chief Investment Officer, Quantum Financial Advisors, who sees further hot potatoes between the U.S. and Iran, and favors utility stocks.

You can view that conversation here