Stocks edge higher as cooler inflation lifts growth names; IBM sinks on profit warning — July 14, 2026

The Session

U.S. stocks closed modestly higher on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, after a cooler-than-expected June inflation report eased worries about further Federal Reserve tightening. The S&P 500 rose about 0.38% to 7,543.59, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.90% to 26,107.01, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a gain of 9.63 points, or 0.02%, to 52,508.27 ^[1]. The small-cap Russell 2000 advanced about 0.39% ^[2], while the 10-year Treasury yield sat near 4.62% ^[3].

The session's main catalyst was the June Consumer Price Index, which showed prices falling 0.4% from May and the annual inflation rate cooling to 3.5%, below forecasts ^[1][3]. Six of the S&P 500's 11 sectors advanced, led by technology, which rose about 1.29%, while health care (-1.93%) and consumer staples (-1.38%) lagged ^[2]. Bank earnings also drove trading, as JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs all reported quarterly results ^[4]. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed about 1.82% to $79.56 a barrel amid U.S.-Iran tensions near the Strait of Hormuz ^[2].

Breadth was mixed beneath the surface. A cohort of high-flying artificial-intelligence and semiconductor names unwound sharply even as the broad tape rose, and International Business Machines tumbled roughly 25% after warning that second-quarter profit would fall short on soft demand in its software and infrastructure businesses, weighing on the Dow ^[1][2].