Stocks Climb as Oil Pares Gain on Iran Deal Hopes: Markets Wrap

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August 11, 2026 - 14:31

5 minutes

(Bloomberg) — Stock futures edged higher and Treasuries erased losses as crude oil pared gains on optimism around a possible deal between the US and Iran.Futures on the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and contracts on the Nasdaq advanced 0.4%. Ten-year Treasury yields fell one basis point to 4.69%. Brent crude reversed most of its earlier rally, trading 0.4% higher at around $88 per barrel.Risk appetite picked up after comments from Pakistan’s defense minister, who said signals in recent days suggest the US and Iran are “close to some sort of arrangement.” Earlier, US President Donald Trump made sweeping new demands on Iran, dimming hopes for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.“The reality that investors have come to grips with is that we don’t know when a peace deal will happen, if it is going happen,” said Anastasia Amoroso, chief investment strategist at Partners Group, told Bloomberg TV. “You have to focus on what fundamentally drives the economy — which is again corporate profitability, which is banner and stellar this year.”Away from the Middle East developments, investors are looking to the US consumer price index reading on Wednesday for fresh signals on the path for Federal Reserve interest rates after Friday’s softer-than-expected data tempered bets on an immediate hike.The gauge probably rose 0.1% in July following a 0.4% decline in the prior month, according to the median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists ahead of Wednesday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics release.Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack struck a hawkish tone on Monday, saying it’s possible a number of rate hikes may be needed to bring inflation down to the central bank’s 2% target.Tech SpendMeanwhile, a spending spree by big tech firms looks set to continue. Intel Corp. raised $20 billion in an upsized share sale that drew more than $100 billion in demand. That deal followed on the heels of Nvidia Corp.’s plan to tap a group of Wall Street firms for $500 billion in funding commitments.In US premarket trading, Riot Platforms Inc. gained 16% after Anthropic PBC struck a $9.1 billion deal with the Bitcoin mining company. Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. jumped 36% after the maker of power generation equipment reported revenue for the second quarter that was far beyond the average analyst estimate.S&P 500 companies are on track for about 32% year-on-year profit growth in the second quarter, following a jump of 30% in the previous three months, according to figures tracked by Bloomberg Intelligence. The next two quarters are also projected to deliver gains exceeding 20%.Such runs are rare, occurring only 10 times since 1936, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists led by Savita Subramanian.Corporate News:US investment giants including Apollo Global Management Inc., Blackstone Inc., BlackRock Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management are partnering with Nvidia Corp. to source $500 billion in financing for artificial intelligence infrastructure. Intel Corp. is seeking to increase the amount it’s raising in a share sale to about $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, a third more than it was targeting when it announced the deal Monday morning. Gautam Adani won dismissal of US securities fraud charges, ending a blockbuster case that threatened the expansion of the Indian billionaire’s giant conglomerate. Anthropic PBC has struck a $9.1 billion deal with Riot Platforms Inc., a Bitcoin mining company that recently began selling AI data center capacity, people familiar with the matter said. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 8:19 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% The MSCI World Index was little changed CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1537 The British pound was little changed at $1.3496 The Japanese yen was unchanged at 159.29 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin rose 0.4% to $64,355.95 Ether rose 0.7% to $1,892.13 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.69% Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 3.17% Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.98% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold rose 0.1% to $4,396.46 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.–With assistance from Winnie Hsu, Faseeh Mangi and Anand Krishnamoorthy.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.