Stocks Rise as ASML Boosts AI Outlook, PPI Cools
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- ASML lifted its annual sales forecast above Wall Street estimates citing AI demand and said it will boost chipmaking equipment production capacity by 30%, easing supply-chain bottleneck concerns in the market.
- Wholesale inflation slowed more than expected in June per the Producer Price Index, echoing Tuesday's cooler CPI report that posted the largest single-month decline since April 2020.
- President Trump told Fox News he will intensify attacks on Iran — "We're going to knock out all of their bridges" — pushing crude oil futures (CL=F) higher as a counterweight to the equity rally.
- The Nasdaq Composite led the broad market higher at +0.6%, with the S&P 500 up 0.3% and the Dow gaining roughly 0.2% by midmorning, extending Tuesday's gains.
- Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh was set for his second day of testimony, this time before the Senate Banking Committee, while investors also awaited the Fed's Beige Book release.
- Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, and Johnson & Johnson reported earnings before the bell, with United Airlines scheduled to release results after the close.
Why it matters: The soft PPI print, paired with Tuesday's cooler CPI, hands Fed Chair Warsh ammunition for the dovish side of his Senate testimony today. ASML's 30% production-capacity bump directly tackles the chip-bottleneck fears weighing on AI-exposed names, while Trump's escalation rhetoric keeps oil's bid — and the broader geopolitical risk premium — firmly in play.
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