Stan ChoeJuly 23, 2026 — 5:18amThe US stock market is drifting in mixed trading, while oil prices climb another 3 per cent as fighting continues in the war with Iran.The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent, coming off its best day in three weeks, after swinging between modest losses and gains for much of the day. The Dow Jones closed flat and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.6 per cent.Wall Street swung between gains and losses throughout the session.BloombergThe Australian sharemarket is set to climb, with futures pointing to a gain of 75 points, or 0.9 per cent, at the open. The ASX added 0.3 per cent on Wednesday. The Australian dollar was trading at US69.99¢.Tesla released its results after the closing bell, reporting negative free cash flow in the second quarter for the first time in more than two years as the Elon Musk-led EV maker accelerated spending on AI infrastructure, battery capacity, robotaxis and next-generation manufacturing. Tesla reported negative free cash flow of $US1.1 billion ($1.6 billion), compared with analysts’ expectation for cash burn of $US3.3 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. EV sales in the quarter helped assuage some fears for now. Tesla delivered 480,126 vehicles in the second quarter, above Wall Street expectations and up from 384,122 vehicles a year earlier. Shares were down 3.3 per cent in extended trading.Alphabet topped Wall Street estimates for its second-quarter revenue, buoyed by continued strong demand for its cloud computing services from enterprises worldwide.Revenue at Google Cloud rose 82 per cent to $US24.8 billion during the quarter ended June, accelerating from the 63 per cent jump reported in the preceding three months. Analysts on average expected a 64 per cent increase, according to data compiled by LSEG.Shares of the company were flat in extended trading.The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 rose after more companies reported strong profits for the spring. Expectations are high for the reports, and companies will need to match them after their stock prices already neared records on anticipation for them.Philip Morris International rose 3.3 per cent after the seller of Marlboro cigarettes reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Its shipments of smoke-free products rose 7.5 per cent.AT&T climbed 3.5 per cent after reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. CEO John Stankey also said the telecom is accelerating plans to send roughly $US10 billion to its shareholders this year through the buybacks of its stock.Super Micro Computer soared 20 per cent after the seller of AI servers said it expects to report stronger profit margins for the latest quarter than it had earlier forecast. It, though, also said that revenue will likely come in at the low end of its forecasted range of $US11 billion to $US12.5 billion.They helped offset a 8.7 per cent drop for GE Vernova, which reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.Stocks broadly also felt pressure from continuing climbs for oil prices, which raise costs for most businesses and erode their profits.The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 3.3 per cent to $US94 after briefly topping $US95 in the morning to touch its highest price in nearly six weeks. That’s up from less than $US72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war with Iran.Rising oil prices are threatening a reacceleration of inflation. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.66 per cent from 4.63 per cent late Tuesday and from just 3.97 per cent before the war with Iran began. It’s already helped bring long-term US mortgage rates to their highest levels in nearly a year.Oil prices have climbed as fighting across the Middle East keeps oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Persian Gulf. Normally, a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passes through the narrow strait.The auto club AAA said Wednesday that the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the US jumped again overnight to $US4.06. That’s still below highs of around $US4.56 per gallon in May, but it had been below $US3 before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February.In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed in Europe following a mixed session in Asia.London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1 per cent for two of the world’s bigger moves.AP, ReutersThe Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.From our partners