Stock market today: S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq mixed as CPI inflation eases, JPMorgan kicks off earnings

The US stock market opened on shaky ground to kick off the trading session on Tuesday morning as a calmer-than-expected inflation reading strengthened odds that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell by roughly 0.2% in the largest move, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) picked up a bit less than 0.1% and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) hovered around the flat line.

The key headline for investors on Tuesday morning was the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “core” CPI reading for the month of December, which came in below forecasts with a 0.2% rise over the previous month and a 2.6% increase over the previous year, marking the lowest annual rise since early 2021. Headline consumer prices rose 0.3% over the prior month and 2.7% over the prior year, in line with economists’ expectations.

Oil prices crossed $65 for the first time since November on Tuesday morning, as a hodgepodge of geopolitical tensions pushed risk premiums higher.

Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, jumped nearly 2% to cross $65 and trade just above that level, while futures on the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) picked up to trade above $60.50.

After spending 2025 consistently falling, oil prices have opened 2026 on a rally as geopolitical shocks have put upward pressure on prices.

Prices on Brent crude have jumped by more than 7% in the past five trading sessions after the US’s extradition of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and full-scale takeover of the South American country’s faltering industry. Prices on WTI have picked up about 6% over the same period.

As tensions have somewhat stabilized in Venezuela and shipments have gotten underway — commodities trading houses Vitol and Trafigura have begun moving Venezuelan crude out of the country, and shipping US naphtha to Venezuela — attention has turned to Iran, the perennial oil focal point in the Middle East.

Mass popular protests against the theocratic Iranian regime under the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have swept across the country since the end of December, triggering a wave of disruption and violent pushback from the government.

Iran is a crucial point of leverage for global oil prices for two reasons. The country produces more than 3 million barrels per day, and is sitting on more than 200 billion barrels of proved reserves, ranking only behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia globally.

Iran also largely controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key global chokepoint for oil flows. In 2024, an average 20 million barrels per day of oil moved through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Any attempts by Iran to close the strait would put immediate and severe upward pressure on oil prices.

The parent company of U.S. Bank is set to acquire the brokerage BTIG in a bid to expand the financial services firm’s purview into investments and trading.

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp (USB) will acquire BTIG in a transaction valued at $1 billion, the company announced in a press release on Tuesday morning. Shares in U.S. Bancorp lost roughly 0.8% in premarket trading, a typical movement for the acquiring party of an M&A announcement.

U.S. Bancorp’s push into investment banking and trading comes as the trading desks of the country’s biggest banks outperformed expectations in the third quarter.

Revenues from equities, fixed income, currency, and commodity trading at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) in the fourth quarter of 2025 rose 15% from the previous year, surpassing analyst expectations, according to earnings released Tuesday morning.

Here’s what JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said about the Trump vs. Powell battle on a call I was just on:

“First, I just want to say that I don’t agree with everything that the Fed has done. I do have enormous respect for Jay Powell, the man. Everyone we know believes in Fed independence, and so do we. And anything that chips away at that is probably not a great idea. And in my view, it will have the reverse consequences. It will raise inflation expectations and probably increase rates over time.”

BNY (BNY) CEO Robin Vince commented on concerns about Federal Reserve independence from the DOJ’s Powell probe, speaking on a reporter call post-earnings:

US investment bank JPMorgan (JPM) posted fourth-quarter results on Tuesday that beat revenue estimates but missed earnings expectations, as net income was hit following its deal to take over the Apple Card (AAPL) from Goldman Sachs (GS).

Yahoo Finance senior reporter David Hollerith looks at the latest earnings release from JPM.

Read more here.

Delta Airlines’ (DAL) stock sank as much as 5% before the bell on Tuesday despite posting upbeat Q4 results, as its forecast fell below estimates.

The airline company said growth in the premium business and lack of certain headwinds would propel its business forward in 2026.

Yahoo Finance senior reporter Pras Subramanian delves into the latest results from Delta.

Read more here.

Intel (INTC) stock rose 3% before the bell on Tuesday. KeyBanc analysts raised their rating on the chipmaker to Overweight from Sector Weight due to strong demand for their central processing units.

Revvity (RVTY) stock climbed 5% during premarket trading on Tuesday after the health company raised its full-year outlook ahead of its earnings release in February.

MP Materials (MP) stock edged higher on Tuesday by 3%. The rare earths company was awarded funding from the US government for a $900 million manufacturing facility last year, and experts believe companies like MP could get a boost from the US’s latest move in Venezuela.

Gold (GC=F) steadied close to another record on Tuesday, as investors focused on the latest attacks on the Federal Reserve by the Trump administration, which have raised some concerns over the Fed’s independence.

Bloomberg News reports:

Read more here.