Stocks Extend Gains on ASML AI Boost, Soft PPI
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- ASML lifted its annual sales forecast above Wall Street estimates and plans to boost chipmaking equipment production capacity by 30%, citing AI demand and soothing supply-chain bottleneck concerns
- US equities edged higher with the Dow up about 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6% as of mid-morning trading, building on the prior session's gains
- The June Producer Price Index showed wholesale inflation slowed faster than expected, following Tuesday's CPI report that registered the largest single-month inflation decline since April 2020
- President Trump told Fox News he would intensify attacks on Iran until it negotiates — "we're going to knock out all of their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate" — pushing crude oil prices up 0.78%
- Investors are watching Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's second day of testimony, this round before the Senate Banking Committee, alongside the release of the Fed's Beige Book
- Earnings season picked up with Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, and Johnson & Johnson reporting before the bell, while United Airlines Holdings is slated to report after the close
Why it matters: ASML's 30% production capacity hike and a cooler-than-expected June PPI reading extended the AI-led rally in tech, but rising oil prices driven by Trump's open-ended Iran campaign add a geopolitical cost layer that traders will weigh against Warsh's Senate testimony and incoming bank earnings for clues on the Fed's July rate path.
