Market Brief — July 15, 2026

US equities gained as softer US inflation data and a weaker dollar supported risk assets, with the Dow (DJIA) up 0.3%, the S&P 500 (SPX) up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) up 0.6%. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) slipped 0.3% while the Hang Seng (HSI) rose 1.4% and the Nikkei (NKY) climbed 1.5% with China’s Q2 GDP and June industrial and retail data in focus. In Europe, the CAC 40 (FRA40) added 0.2%, the FTSE 100 (UKX) edged down 0.1%, and the DAX (DAX) fell 0.6% as investors digested unchanged Fed and ECB policy rates.

FOMC left the federal funds target range at 3.50%–3.75% and projected a higher median policy rate for 2026, while the ECB deposit facility rate stayed at 2.25%, keeping the higher-for-longer narrative in place. US June macro data were mixed as headline CPI rose 3.5% year-over-year but fell 0.4% month-over-month, nonfarm payrolls added about 57,000 jobs with unemployment at 4.2%, and PPI declined 0.3% month-over-month to a 5.5% annual rate, which cooled some rate fears, softened the US Dollar Index (DXY) toward the 100.4–100.8 area, left WTI near $79–$80, Brent $84–$85, and gold $4,033–$4,077, and kept VIX drifting toward summer lows while investors watched China’s Q2 GDP forecast at 4.7% year-over-year versus 5.0% prior.

IBM (IBM) preannounced Q2 2026 revenue of $17.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.93 below analyst consensus, triggering a roughly 25% one-day share drop on July 14 that erased about $67 billion of market value. Conagra (CAG) cut its annualized dividend to $0.70 from $1.40, booked about a $2.0 billion impairment with a roughly $1.62 billion quarterly net loss, and guided fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS to $1.40–$1.50 versus the $1.59 average estimate. Silver prices stayed under pressure, trading near $58.4 per ounce on July 15 before dropping to about $56.3–$56.8 on July 16, leaving the metal down as much as 3.41% on the day and roughly 17.04% over the past month, while SpaceX shares hovered near their $135 IPO level and closed at $135.27 as around 185 million shares, or 29% of float, were sold short, representing about $25 billion in bearish positions. Nomadar completed its acquisition of land for the development of JP Financial Arena, Atlantic Energy completed a customer acquisition from Summer Energy, and Superior Energy Services closed its acquisition of Sonic Holdings, LLC. In announced deals, Raintree, NNS, AvAir, Orum, BIOTRONIK Neuro, NextPlat, and TobaGrown each disclosed acquisitions including Spike Technologies, shares in OCI, Full Stop Technics, Scout AI, a spinal cord stimulation system from Soin Neuroscience, a Pensacola-area pharmacy expected to add about $5.6 million in annual revenue, and Manitoba cannabis extract brands HWY 59 and Banter.