“Will you pick a side already?” – the Dow, probably, as IBM suffered its most terrible, horrible day, while banks roared.

⚖️ Dow Stuck in a Tug-of-War

  • Tuesday had all the ingredients for a rally after softer inflation data, but the Dow Jones barely budged. The Nasdaq climbed 0.9%, the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while the Dow hovered just above the flatline as winners and losers canceled each other out.
  • The blue-chip index found itself caught between two heavyweights. IBM suffered a historic collapse while major US banks delivered earnings strong enough to keep the Dow from sinking alongside Big Blue.
  • And there you have it — price-weighted indexes like the Dow can sometimes look surprisingly calm, even when individual components are having absolute meltdowns.

💥 IBM Has a Day to Forget

  • IBM plunged after releasing preliminary results that disappointed Wall Street. The stock recorded its worst single-day decline, becoming the first US company worth more than $200 billion since April 2025 to lose 20% or more in a single session.
  • The collapse dragged on the Dow even though many investors were celebrating a cooler inflation report. Sometimes one stock decides it's the main character — and everyone else has to deal with the plot twist.
  • Meanwhile, most Dow components were trading lower before the closing bell, highlighting just how much weight a handful of large moves can carry.

🏦 Banks Save the Day

  • Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase helped offset IBM's plunge after both posted earnings that beat analysts' expectations. Strong banking results gave investors another reason to believe corporate America is holding up better than feared.
  • The rally was also fueled by encouraging inflation data. US consumer prices fell 0.4% in June from the previous month, bringing annual inflation down to 3.5%, better than economists' expectations of 3.8%.
  • Attention now shifts to another packed earnings slate. Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, BlackRock and United Airlines are next in line, while stock futures point modestly higher as traders hope strong profits can keep the market's momentum alive.