Stock Market Today: Stocks Continue Rally; Consumer Confidence Weakens
Another day of rallying. Among the top performers is cruise-line operator Carnival. Consumers are getting worried.
Update 1:30
Stocks higher as the Iran-Israel cease-fire holds. Consumer Confidence weakens.
Heading into the last minutes of trading, stocks remain higher and are trending near the best levels of the day.
The big cap indexes, Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500, are up by about 1.25% each. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is higher by 1.6%, while the smaller-cap companies in the Russell 2000 are up 1.4%.
The rally is broad-based. Most stocks are still up.
The Semiconductors remain among the leaders, with Intel and AMD both gaining more than 6.5%.
Energy stocks and Tesla are among the big losers so far today as oil holds below the $65 level we've been discussing this week.
The Conference Board announced earlier today that Consumer Confidence declined in June. Consumers are worried about the economy, especially jobs and the impact of tariffs. For the first time in some time, the shift was across the board, as Republicans showed the largest decline in confidence.
As for Fed Chair Powell, he's been on Capitol Hill all day today, telling lawmakers that the economy is on good footing but believes that tariffs will raise inflation. The question is whether the inflation will be a single step-up in prices or something that's more persistent. With that in mind, the Fed plans to wait before cutting rates.
And, of course, the Middle East. This morning, we had a cease-fire. But then, rockets were fired. Trump fired back and things seem to have settled. For now.
Update 12:30 p.m. EDT
Stocks up strongly; Carnival, Chipmakers in Focus
Stocks are up strongly at midday Tuesday. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are both up almost 1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and Small Cap Russell 2000 are each higher by more than 1%. 
Nine of the 11 S&P sectors are up today, led by Information Technology and Communication Services. Consumer Staples and Energy are the only losing sectors.
Breadth is solidly in the green with 75% of stocks trading higher.
Notable gainers include Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) , which is up 8% following strong earnings. Semiconductor stocks are rallying, too. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel (INTC) are leading the charge, gaining over 5% each. 
Tesla (TSLA) is among the minority of stocks that are lower. It’s down 1.5% on profit taking following yesterday’s big gain, and the memory that Tesla is not the first driverless taxi company out there!
Finally, crude has fallen below $65. Over on TheStreet Pro, Carley Garner tells us that oil could dip into the low $50s, or even lower.
Stock Market Today
The Israel/Iran cease-fire, announced yesterday, is at risk. Israel claims that Iran killed four Israelis in a missile strike on Tuesday and responded by launching additional missiles at Iran. Trump has commanded Israel to stop, as his strategy of peace through strength is at risk.
A key remaining question: Where is Iran's enriched uranium?
But that's not the only concern. Domestically — well, globally, too — we're coming up quickly on the July 9 deadline for trade deals. Over on TheStreet Pro, Sarge Guilfoyle tells readers that Japan is setting up cabinet-level talks.
And Fed Chairman Jerome Powell kicks off his meeting with the Senate today. His prepared remarks state that the central bank is in no rush to lower rates. Rather, the Fed will take a wait-and-see position as tariffs are about to go into effect, and it wants to get a sense of their impact on inflation.
Stock futures are dropping on that news but remain solidly higher in premarket trading.
Bond-market futures, on the other hand, are lower, sending yields higher. Bomd yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The U.S. 10-year currently yields 4.35%, while the 5-year is at 3.91%. This is the widest gap since 2021.
Yield curves keep steepening as investors stay away from buying 10-year notes. The gap between US 10-year and 5-year yields is the widest since 2021. pic.twitter.com/upyl7lgyaQ— Lisa Abramowicz (@lisaabramowicz1) June 24, 2025
Crude oil is down for a second day. This morning's 4% decline has seen prices fall below the $65 support level I mentioned yesterday. The downtrend is intact. Can $65 hold today?
In economic news, April housing prices fell.
House prices fell in April
- FHFA House price index down 0.4% (estimate was flat)
- Case Shiller down 0.31% (estimates was for a decline of 0.02%)— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) June 24, 2025
