Stocks opened higher on Thursday, June 11, shaking off a brutal week even as the U.S.-Iran conflict deepened and a fresh inflation report came in hot. The S&P 500 rose 0.21%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.45%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.26% in the opening minutes. The small-cap Russell 2000 fell 1.10%, a sign investors remained cautious about higher interest rates sticking around.

Oil prices climbed after President Donald Trump said the United States would hit Iran “very hard” and seize “total control” of the country’s oil and gas industry, while U.S. Central Command confirmed fresh strikes overnight. Explosions were reported across Iran, including near the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic shipping lane through which a significant portion of the world’s oil supply passes.

The market’s gains came despite an alarming inflation report.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI) jumped 1.1% in May from April, exceeding economists’ expectations of 0.7%. On a year-over-year basis, wholesale prices climbed 6.5%, marking the steepest increase since November 2022.

Energy prices drove much of the increase. Wholesale gasoline prices surged 23.4% during the month as escalating tensions with Iran pushed crude oil prices sharply higher. Excluding food and energy, so-called core wholesale prices rose a more moderate 0.4%, suggesting the inflation shock was concentrated largely in energy markets.

The report arrived just one day after separate government data showed consumer inflation reaching 4.2% annually, the highest reading in three years, and only days before the Federal Reserve’s June 17 policy meeting.

The biggest corporate story of the morning belonged to Oracle Corporation.

The software and cloud-computing giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter results after Wednesday’s closing bell. Revenue totaled approximately $19.2 billion, while adjusted earnings came in at $2.03 per share, both above Wall Street expectations.

Despite the strong results, Oracle shares fell roughly 8% at the open after management revealed plans to raise approximately $40 billion through a combination of debt and equity offerings, including a reported $20 billion stock sale, to fund an aggressive expansion of artificial-intelligence infrastructure.

Chief Executive Clay Magouyrk told analysts the company expects to bring nearly one gigawatt of computing capacity online this quarter alone, while Chief Financial Officer Hilary Maxson said Oracle anticipates roughly $70 billion in capital expenditures during the coming fiscal year.

Investors appeared concerned about the scale of the spending.

Analysts at Bank of America noted that more than half of Oracle’s contracted future revenue is tied to a single customer, OpenAI, increasing perceived concentration risk.

The spending plans also rattled parts of the broader software sector. Shares of German software giant SAP fell more than 4% as investors questioned whether competitors would face similar pressure to dramatically increase AI infrastructure spending.

Not all analysts turned negative.

UBS analyst Karl Keirstead raised his price target on Oracle to $285 from $250, while Oppenheimer and Wedbush increased their targets to $275. Evercore ISI lifted its target to $245, and Barclays maintained an overweight rating with a $240 price target.

Another major market focus is SpaceX.

Elon Musk’s rocket company is expected to price its long-awaited initial public offering after Thursday’s close at approximately $135 per share, with trading expected to begin Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SPCX.

At a reported valuation exceeding $1.75 trillion, the offering would rank as the largest IPO in history.

The proposed listing has already generated controversy.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to delay approval of the offering, citing concerns about valuation and Musk’s concentrated control over the company.

Adding further uncertainty, Iranian state media reportedly warned that Musk’s businesses operating in the Middle East, including the Starlink satellite network, could be viewed as military targets amid escalating regional tensions.

Elsewhere, semiconductor stocks rebounded after a difficult stretch that erased nearly $1 trillion in market value earlier this month.

Shares of SoftBank Group Corp. fell more than 9% after reports suggested financing tied to its investment in OpenAI encountered complications. Meanwhile, investors were awaiting earnings from Adobe Inc., scheduled for release after Thursday’s closing bell, with analysts closely watching whether the company’s AI initiatives are translating into meaningful revenue growth.

For now, Wall Street’s gains rest on a fragile assumption: that the latest inflation surge is primarily an energy story and that the conflict with Iran remains contained.

Investors now turn their attention to Adobe’s earnings, SpaceX’s IPO pricing, and next week’s highly anticipated Federal Reserve interest-rate decision, which may ultimately determine whether the market’s recent volatility intensifies or begins to ease.

JBizNews Desk — New York

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