Wall Street opened Tuesday, July 7, with a split personality. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed to a fresh all-time high, up about 187 points, or 0.3%, shortly after the bell, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell around 0.6% and the S&P 500 slipped roughly 0.1%. Driving the caution was a jolt from the Middle East: the British maritime agency UKMTO said Tuesday that an “unknown projectile” struck an oil tanker and started a fire off the coast of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, on Monday — reviving fears about the world’s most important oil chokepoint just as tensions there had begun to ease.

The strike pushed crude higher. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 0.63% to $72.45 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 0.57% to $68.94. The move interrupted a stretch of falling oil prices and reminded traders that the U.S.-Iran conflict, and the shipping lane carrying about a fifth of the world’s oil, remain a live risk.

Beneath the surface, money kept rotating. For a second straight session, investors pulled out of the artificial-intelligence trade that has led the market all year and moved into steadier corners like healthcare, banks and the biggest technology names.

The moves built on a strong start to the week. On Monday, the Dow closed at a record 53,055.91, the S&P 500 finished at 7,537.43 and the Nasdaq ended at 26,121.16. The small-cap Russell 2000 was the early bright spot Tuesday, edging up about 0.4%.

Market movers

The pain was concentrated in chipmakers. Micron Technology dropped about 5%, and KLA, Marvell Technology, Broadcom and AMD all fell, dragging the VanEck Semiconductor ETF down more than 3%. On the other side, Eli Lilly climbed more than 2%, while JPMorgan Chase and Microsoft advanced as buyers favored steady earners.

Walmart rose about 1% after the retailer said it was cutting prices on staples including ground beef and Coca-Cola products — a welcome sign for shoppers watching grocery bills. Rivian Automotive sank more than 10% after announcing plans to sell 75 million new shares, a move that dilutes existing holders. Amazon ticked up after reports it is seeking to raise at least $25 billion through a bond sale. And SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, officially joined the Nasdaq-100 on Tuesday, less than a month after its record-breaking June debut.

Analysts were busy. Goldman Sachs started coverage of SpaceX with a Buy rating and a $205 price target, while UBS and Stifel also launched with Buy calls at $210 and $190. JPMorgan reiterated its Overweight rating on Apple and lifted its target to $345 from $325. Deutsche Bank upgraded First Solar to Buy with a $272 target, and Scotiabank raised Cloudflare to Outperform, boosting its target to $300 from $225. Not every call was upbeat: Bank of America cut Adobe to Underperform with a $190 target, and Erste Group downgraded Broadcom to Hold.

Commodities and volatility

Oil was the standout, climbing on the Hormuz scare. Otherwise the mood stayed mostly calm. The Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” had closed near a low 15.6 on Monday and ticked only modestly higher as stocks opened, suggesting traders saw the tanker strike as a worry to watch rather than a reason to flee.

The day ahead

There is fresh data to digest. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in May to $77.6 billion, from a revised $54.6 billion in April, as exports fell 3.2% and imports rose 3.3%. Investors are also looking to Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its first meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh — a document that could offer clues on when, or whether, interest rates will fall this year. Overseas, leaders are gathering for a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where President Donald Trump is pressing European allies to spend more on their own defense.

For now, the market’s message is one of rotation rather than retreat: as long as the economy holds up, investors seem willing to keep buying — just not the same stocks that carried them here.

JBiz Desk | Wall Street

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