Daily News 22th July 26
Daily News
Dow Gains Nearly 400 Points as S&P 500 Snaps Losing Run on Chip Stocks; Gold Nears $4,200 and Crude Tops $85 as Middle East Risks Mount; US Concludes 11th Round of Iran Strikes With War Cost at $37.5 Billion
22 July 2026
Today in Brief
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi led regional gains, advancing over 5% while the Kosdaq rose 2%, Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.34%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.12%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.66%. The major U.S. averages snapped a three-session losing streak on Tuesday, with the Dow rising 385.38 points (0.74%) to 52,224.64, the S&P 500 advancing 0.89% to 7,509.20, and the Nasdaq adding 1.29% to 25,837.21, lifted by better-than-expected earnings from 3M and General Motors. Gold climbed toward $4,200 an ounce on Wednesday and crude oil rose above $85 per barrel, hitting almost six-week highs, as President Trump dismissed the likelihood of imminent talks with Iran, warned of additional strikes, and pledged retaliation if Houthi rebels disrupted Red Sea shipping, while a Kuwaiti tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz.
In other news: U.S. Central Command concluded an eleventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth putting the cost of the war at $37.5 billion, as Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes on U.S. military facilities in Kuwait and Trump threatened to hit a suspected Iranian nuclear site known as "Pickaxe Mountain"; President Trump also unveiled a phased tariff schedule on generic drugs, moving from zero tariffs to a 100% levy in August 2028 and 200% a year later; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington could sanction China over alleged "theft" of American AI models amid the rise of Chinese open-weight systems such as Moonshot AI's Kimi K3; Japan's June exports grew at their fastest pace since November 2022, up 19.3% year-on-year; Nike said it would cut off thousands of online distributors in China to clean up its digital marketplace; Super Micro shares surged 15% after the server maker raised its June-quarter margin guidance; Novo Nordisk sued Eli Lilly alleging misleading GLP-1 advertising; and Indian FMCG companies are bracing for margin pressure this earnings season as Iran war-driven input costs outweigh resilient demand and price hikes.
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi led gains in the region
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi led gains in the region, advancing over 5% while the Kosdaq rose 2%. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.34%, while the Topix was little changed. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.12%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.66%, while the CSI 300 rose 0.15%. The major U.S. averages snapped a three-session losing streak on Tuesday, supported by better-than-expected earnings from blue-chip companies including 3M and General Motors, which helped ease concerns about the health of corporate America.
Dow gains nearly 400 points; S&P 500 snaps 3-day losing run as chip stocks rise
Stocks climbed on Tuesday, supported by chipmakers, as investors looked through the latest developments in the Iran war to focus on corporate earnings updates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 385.38 points, or 0.74%, to 52,224.64. The S&P 500 advanced 0.89% to close at 7,509.20, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.29% to end at 25,837.21. All three indexes broke three-day losing streaks. 3M shares jumped more than 7% after the industrial giant's second-quarter earnings came in better than expected. Additionally, General Motors reported a beat on the top and bottom lines for the second quarter, lifting the stock nearly 5%. The reporting period is off to a strong start. Of the roughly 66 S&P 500 names that have reported, nearly 88% have topped bottom-line estimates, per FactSet.
Gold climbed toward $4,200 an ounce on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session
Gold climbed toward $4,200 an ounce on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session as investors continued to monitor Middle East uncertainties and rising oil prices and their impact on inflation and interest rates. President Donald Trump downplayed the chances of near-term talks with Iran and warned of additional strikes, lifting oil prices. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen also disrupted shipping through the Red Sea, while a series of attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal along Russia's Black Sea coast added to supply concerns. Meanwhile, ADP data showed US private employers added an average of 16,500 jobs per week over the four weeks ending July 4, down from an average weekly gain of 19,250 in the prior four-week period, marking a fourth straight slowdown in hiring.
Crude oil rose above $85 per barrel on Wednesday, hitting almost six-week highs
Crude oil rose above $85 per barrel on Wednesday, hitting almost six-week highs as supply risks intensified across several major export routes even beyond the Middle East. President Donald Trump dismissed the likelihood of imminent talks with Iran while warning of additional strikes and pledging retaliation if Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen disrupted shipping through the Red Sea. The Red Sea has become a vital export corridor for Saudi Arabia during the conflict, enabling the kingdom to reroute part of its crude exports through pipelines and reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti tanker carrying oil products was struck in Hormuz, underscoring persistent threats to maritime traffic.
Trump plans steep tariffs on generic drugs starting in 2028 to spur U.S. production
President Donald Trump said generic drugs imported into the U.S. will face zero tariffs for two years starting August 1, before a 100% levy takes effect in August 2028 and rises to 200% a year later. The phased schedule is intended to push generic drugmakers to move production onshore, Trump said in a social media post Tuesday, describing the escalation as "a penalty" for companies that don't build plants and facilities in the U.S. within the grace period. Tariffs on patented and branded drugs will remain unchanged, Trump said. The president imposed a 100% levy on patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients under Section 232 on April 2, while exempting generic drugs, biosimilars, and related ingredients.
Bessent says U.S. could sanction China over AI model 'theft'
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said the Trump administration will look into whether Chinese artificial intelligence models have been distilled from American models, stating that the government does not support "IP theft." Chinese open-weight models are gaining steam against leading offerings from American companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, sparking concerns from tech executives and government officials about the durability of the U.S. lead in the AI race. Moonshot AI, a Chinese startup, released a model called Kimi K3 earlier this month that outperforms those companies across some industry benchmarks. Open weight refers to models whose final trained parameters are publicly released for download, while the underlying code and training data remain private.
US concludes 11th round of Iran strikes; Hegseth says war cost at $37.5 bn
U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday evening it had concluded an eleventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the cost of the war has risen to $37.5 billion. CENTCOM said it had continued to target Iranian military assets with the goal of degrading the country's ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said it had retaliated against the latest attacks with drone and missile strikes on U.S. military facilities in Kuwait. The latest round of strikes come after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to attack a suspected Iranian nuclear site called "Pickaxe Mountain," or Mount Kolang. Trump said the U.S. could attack the site "pretty soon, and very heavily." His threat drew a sharp rebuke from Iran, with Tehran warning of a major expansion of their war on any attacks on its nuclear facilities.
Japan exports and imports grow at fastest pace in June since November 2022, beating estimates
Japan exports in June grew at their fastest pace since November 2022, rising 19.3% from a year earlier, powered by shipments of semiconductor equipment and a weak yen. Exports growth beat expectations of an 18.6% rise from economists polled by Reuters, and was higher than the 16.8% seen in May. Shipments to Asia rose 22.7%, most notably seeing a 46.4% jump in exports to Taiwan compared to the same period last year. Exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner, increased 17.6%, while goods sold to the U.S. climbed 13% year on year.
Nike to cut off thousands of online distributors in China, restructure digital footprint
Nike is planning to cut off thousands of online distributors in China beginning in January as the sneaker giant looks to clean up what's become a messy digital marketplace and get the region back to growth, the company said Tuesday. Starting next year, Nike's online footprint will shift primarily to the retailer's official website and app, and the storefronts it operates on Tmall, JD.com and Douyin, some of China's largest online marketplaces and social platforms. Currently, consumers can shop Nike through all of those channels as well as thousands of other online storefronts powered by Nike's brick-and-mortar partners in the region and a network of secondary distributors. While the vast digital network has led to widespread consumer access to Nike's products, it's also created an inconsistent branding and pricing experience and hampered the company's efforts to reverse a sales decline in the region.
Super Micro surges 15% on new order and margin disclosure after SpaceX announcement
Shares of Super Micro Computer jumped 15% after the server maker said Tuesday it now sees higher margins than previously projected for the June quarter, with a surge in new orders. The company said its gross margin and adjusted gross margin should come in between 15% and 17%, a step up from the range of 8.2% to 8.4% that management provided in May. The revision is "primarily due to a favourable customer and product mix," Super Micro said in a preliminary business update. Demand for servers containing Nvidia graphics processing units that run artificial intelligence models has been surging for Super Micro, as well as rivals Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Dell stock moved up 5% in extended trading after hours on Tuesday, while HPE gained 4%.
Novo Nordisk sues Eli Lilly, alleging misleading GLP-1 advertising
Novo Nordisk on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly, alleging that its advertising campaigns for its blockbuster obesity and diabetes drugs are designed to mislead consumers about their superior efficacy relative to the Danish drugmaker's rival injections. Novo is specifically taking issue with nationwide ads that cite what it called "outdated" clinical trials to compare the highest doses of Lilly's medicines to lower doses of Novo's drugs. For example, those campaigns don't include new evidence about Novo's recently approved high-dose version of its obesity injection, Wegovy, which entered the market in March and brings weight loss that's more comparable to Lilly's products. That "leaves them with the inevitable conclusion that Lilly's medicines are superior to Novo's, and that's not accurate," said John Kuckelman, Novo's group general counsel, in an interview Monday.
India's FMCG sector faces margin squeeze as costs spike amid strong demand, price hikes
Indian consumer goods companies are expected to report pressure on first-quarter profit margins, as the Iran war-fuelled higher raw material costs outweighed benefits from resilient demand and price hikes, brokerages said. The results will help investors assess how effectively companies have used price hikes and pack-size reductions, while management commentary on rural demand, monsoon progress and input-cost inflation will also be closely watched. Marico and Godrej Consumer Products are among the most frequently preferred stocks across brokerages ahead of the earnings season that Nestle India kicks off on July 22.
