US stocks head toward record as geopolitics fail to derail rally

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Equities are headed for a blue-sky scenario after the ceasefire in the Middle East drastically reduced the odds of a major disruption to energy prices. The risks facing the stock market are swiftly diminishing as economic growth remains solid despite the turmoil from tariffs and geopolitics. Equities have been remarkably resilient over the past two months as the S&P 500 bounced sharply from April lows, putting it 2% away from its record high.

“It’s dangerous for investors to overreact on such events which typically turn out to be entry points rather than lasting selloffs,” Barclays PLC strategist Emmanuel Cau said. “This could actually end up as a bullish factor for stocks over the medium term.” Yahoo Finance reports.

🏦 Powell is staying at the Fed, with Trump appointments possibly limited: U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell begins two days of congressional testimony on Tuesday under fire from President Donald Trump for not cutting interest rates but with his status as head of the central bank seemingly secured from any presidential action by a Supreme Court ruling last month.

Trump has mused about firing Powell or naming a successor soon, in what some analysts see as an effort to influence monetary policy through a "shadow" Fed chair even before Powell leaves office in May 2026. Reuters reports.

💻 Micron to report earnings tomorrow: Here is what to expect: Memory chips maker Micron will be reporting earnings this Wednesday after market hours. Here’s what you need to know.

Micron beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 1.9% last quarter, reporting revenues of $8.05 billion, up 38.3% year on year. It was a satisfactory quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but an increase in its inventory levels. Yahoo Finance reports.

🏦 Big US banks expected to ace stress tests, boost dividends: The biggest U.S. lenders are expected to clear the Federal Reserve's annual health check this year, showing they have ample capital that can be used to boost dividends, analysts said.

The results of the central bank's so-called “stress tests” on Friday will determine how much cash lenders would need to hold to withstand a severe economic downturn. A less strenuous methodology this year means banks will probably perform better and return more money to investors via dividends and share buybacks, analysts said. Yahoo Finance reports.

💰 Amazon vows to invest £40 billion in UK economy: Amazon has pledged to invest £40 billion Britain over the next three years in a vote of confidence in Labour’s Britain. The online retail giant has set out plans to build four new delivery and fulfilment centres in the UK, including in Hull, Northampton and in the East Midlands, creating more than 4,000 jobs, and expand its nationwide network of delivery stations.

The investment also includes a previously announced £8bn from Amazon Web Services, its internet infrastructure business, two new corporate offices in East London and the redevelopment of Bray Film Studios in Berkshire, which it acquired last year. Yahoo Finance reports.

🛢️Oil sells off as traders calmly look beyond the bombs in the Middle East: If oil prices are any measure, Iran just flinched. The price of oil tumbled Monday afternoon in an historical move as traders bet that Iran’s decision to bomb a U.S. base in Qatar signaled it was not planning to do the one thing that could really hurt America: Shut down the flow of oil by attacking crude shipments.

“When the response comes and it is muted, oil drops,” said Tom Kloza, chief market strategist at consultancy Turner Mason & Co, calling the limited Iran response far short of what many traders feared. “This rivals some of the historic selloffs.” There’s still plenty Iran could do to push prices back up, and the markets could be getting it all wrong, But oil analysts say there are plenty of reasons fear has receded. AP News reports.

🤖 Alibaba Accelerates Global AI Push, Targets Overseas Data Centers: Alibaba Group Holding's cloud computing unit looks to extend its artificial intelligence services, including its Qwen family of models, to its overseas data centers by 2025.

The company planned to offer its flagship Qwen large language models, as well as Model Studio, which also provides access to third-party models, through its major data centers worldwide, SCMP reported on Tuesday, citing Liu Weiguang, senior vice-president of Alibaba Cloud, at an event. Alibaba currently operates 29 data centers, including two in the US, one in London, one in Dubai, and 15 across mainland China and Hong Kong. Benzinga reports.

⏲️ Pressure to seal Trump trade deals ramps up with two weeks to go: Two weeks from President Donald Trump’s self-imposed deadline to reach deals with the US’s major trading partners, some of the most-watched talks aimed at clinching agreements to avoid higher tariffs are struggling to get over the finish line.

There’s a lot at stake: As of July 9, exporting nations without a bilateral accord in place will face Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs that are much higher than the current baseline 10% level applied to most countries. Only the UK has secured something on paper, though that pact kept the 10% so-called reciprocal rate in place and left unresolved one of Britain’s pain points — 25% steel duties. On a separate track is China, which has a fragile truce with the US that extends into mid-August to give time for negotiations to play out. Yahoo Finance reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time)
Benzinga reports.

1) $IBIO: iBio

Total gain: +51.60%

2) $CBIO: Crescent Biopharma

Total gain: +37.18%

3) $VBIX: ViewBix 

Total gain: +33.85%

4) $NKTR: Nektar Therapeutics

Total gain: +31.02%

5) $KEP: Korea Electric Power

Total gain: +21.57%

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on June 23.
Benzinga reports.

*All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern Time

1) $OP: OceanPal

Total gain: +52.43%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

2) $HUSA: Houston American Energy

Total gain: +30.85%

The company announced the closing of a registered direct offering for its client, Houston American Energy, an independent oil and gas company. Benzinga reports.

3) $TMDE: TMD Energy Limited Ordinary

Total gain: +29.09%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

*Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars


FDX: FedEx
4Q 2025

After Market Close
Estimate: 5.860
Actual: N/A

CCL: Carnival
2Q 2025

Before Market Open
Estimate: 0.240
Actual: N/A

SNX: TD Synnex
2Q 2025

Before Market Open
Estimate: 2.720
Actual: N/A

Time (ET) / Report / Period

9:00 am - S&P Case-Shiller home price index (20 cities) - April

9:15 am - Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack speaks

“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”

- Warren Buffett

Sourced in: Warren Buffett. “Chairman's Letter – 2004.” Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Shareholder
Letter, February 2005.