Stocks Struggle as Iran, Inflation Worries Persist: Stock Market Today
Volatility continued Friday as a new round of tariffs amplified inflation fears and Intel's earnings couldn't overcome a risk-off stance toward chip stocks.
Stocks rallied off their mid-morning lows on Friday on reports that Pakistan is attempting to restart peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. But worries about the impact of rising oil prices and new tariffs on inflation, as well as another round of poorly received tech earnings, had main indexes reversing course heading into the weekend.
At the close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% at 51,947 and the broader S&P 500 was 0.05% higher at 7,411. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, was 0.6% lower at 24,975. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched back-to-back weekly losses, while the Dow extended its weekly losing streak to three.
Retreating oil prices somewhat eased inflation worries ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting. But while front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 3% to $89.31 per barrel, they're still up more than 28% for the month.
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And the Trump administration's newly announced tariffs, which impose 10% to 25% tariffs on a variety of goods from major trading partners, kept price concerns at the forefront.
"The administration has found a replacement for the IEEPA tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court in February," says Sonu Varghese, chief macro strategist at Carson Group.
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While the effective tariff rate "will still be below the worst-case scenario feared after Liberation Day," he explains, the tariffs "add another layer of inflationary pressure, raising companies' costs for raw materials and intermediate goods that have yet to be fully passed on to consumers."
The Fed will conclude its July policy meeting next Wednesday afternoon. According to CME Group FedWatch, futures traders are pricing in a 64% chance the central bank will hold interest rates steady — down from 87% one week ago.
Intel swings lower after earnings, DLR has its best day since 2020
Market participants also sifted through a busy earnings calendar. Intel (INTC) was one of the most noteworthy reports. The chipmaker reported its highest year-over-year revenue growth in 15 years — up 25% from Q2 2025 to $16.1 billion — sending its shares higher at Friday's open.
But Intel closed down 7.9% on the day. "Even earnings reports that appear to be positive are often not enough in the current environment," write Argus Research analysts. And for INTC, in particular, Argus is concerned that key end markets, such as servers and PCs, "are at risk from soaring component costs, particularly for memory."
Digital Realty (DLR), meanwhile, surged 11% after its beat-and-raise quarter, its best day since March 13, 2020.
Results from the real estate investment trust (REIT), which owns, operates and invests in data centers, underscored "accelerating AI-driven demand, market share gains, and the strength of its global platform," says Stifel analyst Erik Rasmussen.
And given the company's strong execution, sufficient liquidity and increasing AI-related deployments, Rasmussen believes "Digital Realty remains well positioned to sustain double-digit earnings growth."
He has a Buy rating on the REIT and a $235 price target, representing implied upside of 17% to current levels.
Bank of America hikes its dividend by 14%
In non-earnings news, Bank of America (BAC) jumped 1.3% after the financial giant announced a 14% dividend hike.
"The increase in our dividend reflects the strength of our earnings, the power of our franchise and our confidence in Bank of America’s ability to drive long-term growth and create value for shareholders," said CEO Brian Moynihan in the press release.
This is welcome news for income investors who have watched Bank of America raise its payout for 13 years straight. And the most well-known person in that group is Warren Buffett, who first added BAC to the Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio in 2017.
While Berkshire has been slowly reducing its exposure to the bank stock in recent quarters, it was still the third-largest equity holding at the end of Q1. And BAC has been an income-generating machine for Berkshire over the years, paying the holding company $625 million in cash dividends in 2025 alone.
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