Thurs.., July 23, 2026
[4:10 PM ET…closing prices for stocks, 3:50ish for commodities and bonds]
Tale of the Tape at the gas pump, nationwide averages, courtesy of AAA.
Fri., Feb. 27…regular $2.98…diesel $3.75
Thurs.., July 23…regular $4.09…diesel $5.20
Early this morning, crude oil was trading at about $88 on WTI, $95 on Brent, after the Iran-backed Houthi militants attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, raising fears of broader supply disruptions across key shipping routes. The group said the vessels were struck with missiles and drones for violating its blockade, while UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a ship caught fire after being hit southwest of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
The attacks marked the first strikes on tankers in the Red Sea, opening a new front in the conflict as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains under threat.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces launched a 12th straight day of strikes on Iran to curb threats to commercial shipping, while Tehran retaliated by attacking Kuwait.
Both sides continued to play down the prospects for peace talks, with President Trump also threatening further strikes on Iranian infrastructure, as he noted in a Truth Social post, yesterday, Wednesday.
President Trump then posted on Truth Social this morning, 8:16 AM:
“A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships. Since that time and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night. Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart.”
Oil shot up to $90 and then $92, Brent to $101, and at around 1:00 PM ET this afternoon, gasoline futures hit $3.50, just 25 cents from the high, and a far cry from the below $3.00 we had just a few weeks ago.
It didn’t help that Kazakhstan has halted crude exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in the Black Sea after drone attacks from Ukraine on Russian interests.
After the close in the stock market yesterday, Google and Tesla’s earnings reports spooked investors over the level of capex spent on AI. Just a little while ago, this was viewed as positive. Now investors are increasingly questioning the return on said spending.
And then there’s the bond market. Yields keep rising to new cycle highs. And it’s the same situation around the world. Germany’s 10-year, 3.20%, is at its highest level since 2011. Britain’s is up to 5.10%.
No surprise then, today was a downer on Wall Street.
All of the above complicates the Federal Reserve’s decision-making, as the Open Market Committee gathers next Tues. and Wed. for Chair Kevin Warsh’s second meeting at the helm. There won’t be a lot of talk of rate ‘cuts’ anytime soon, that’s for sure.
Dow Jones -506…-1.0% [51710]
S&P 500 -90…-1.2% [7408]
Nasdaq -553…-2.2% [25137]
Oil (WTI) $91.60…Brent $99.95
Gold $4050
Silver $57.60
Bitcoin $64,805 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 4.35%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.69%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.75%
Check out my Week in Review, posted Fridays at 4:30 PM ET.
***Please support StocksandNews…there are big costs behind it. Click on the GoFundMe link or send a check to PO Box 990, New Providence, NJ 07974.
For ZELLE: use Zelle recipient briannovak24@gmail.com.
Brian Trumbore
