Wall Street closes slightly lower Wednesday as oil jumps; S&P 500 ends at 7,498

Wall Street's main indexes ended slightly lower on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, after swinging during the session. The S&P 500 fell 0.14% to 7,498.96, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.57% to 25,690.90, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually flat (down about 6 points, or 0.01%) at 52,218.58.

The main pressure came from a jump in oil prices. Brent crude rose about 3.4% on Wednesday to settle at $94.07 a barrel, its highest in more than a month and briefly above $95, while West Texas Intermediate climbed about 3% to close at $86.83. The oil rally followed an 11th consecutive night of U.S. strikes on Iran and remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iran is not serious about negotiations.

Investors were awaiting a wave of after-hours second-quarter results from big technology companies. For Iran's markets, the oil surge and continued military tensions are the two main channels through which this session feeds into domestic gold and currency prices.