S&P futures experienced a modest increase on Wednesday, driven primarily by advancements in the semiconductor sector. However, these gains were tempered by ongoing elevated tensions between Iran and the United States. Futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced an increase of 5 points. S&P 500 futures increased by 0.1%, whereas Nasdaq-100 futures rose by 0.4%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF advanced 1.2%, led by a 3% gain in ASML. The semiconductor equipment maker has revised its sales outlook upward for the second time this year. Intel and Lam Research experienced increases exceeding 3%. Crude prices experienced an uptick following the announcement from U.S. Central Command regarding additional military actions taken against Iran. “The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

WTI futures experienced an increase of 1%, reaching a price of $80.21 per barrel. International Brent increased by 1.1%, trading at $85.68 per barrel. Stocks experienced an upward movement on Tuesday following a less-than-anticipated inflation report, which strengthened the belief that the Federal Reserve might not have to implement aggressive interest rate hikes this year. The U.S. consumer price index experienced a decline of 0.4% in June compared to the previous month, resulting in an annual inflation rate of 3.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipated a 0.2% monthly decrease and an annual inflation rate of 3.8%. The report led traders to reduce their expectations for imminent Fed tightening. The likelihood of an interest rate increase at the central bank’s July meeting decreased to 17% from 42% the previous day, as indicated by CME’s FedWatch Tool.

Markets, however, continue to price in an increase later this year, with traders assigning a 63% probability that rates will be a quarter- or half-percentage point higher following the September meeting. “While energy played a big role in the price deceleration, the easing was pretty broad and spread across a bunch of categories, a relief to investors,” Adam Crisafulli said in a note. “However, the Fed and economy aren’t in the clear – inflation is still elevated on an absolute basis, oil is back on an upswing, and AI is proving to be very inflationary at the moment.” European stocks exhibited a subdued performance on Wednesday, as ongoing U.S. military actions in Iran exerted pressure on investor sentiment. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was observed trading flat, as regional bourses and the majority of sectors presented a mixed scenario. London’s FTSE 100 was observed to be down 0.2%, while France’s CAC 40 experienced a slight decline, and Germany’s DAX decreased by 0.8%.

Asia-Pacific markets exhibited a predominantly upward trend on Wednesday, as evidenced by South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225, which recorded increases of 6.2% and 1.5%, respectively. Australia’s benchmark index experienced an increase of 0.4%. Mainland China stocks, however, declined by 0.2% in volatile trading, following the release of the country’s slowest quarterly GDP growth since 2022, which fell short of market expectations. Investors are poised to focus on a particularly active day of earnings on Wednesday, as United Airlines, Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, and BlackRock prepare to disclose their quarterly results.