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WALL STREET WEIGHS COOLING INFLATION AGAINST RISING CRUDE PRICES

The main U.S. indexes ended higher on Tuesday as investors weighed a softer-than-expected inflation report and strong bank earnings against rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, appearing before Congress for the first time since taking office, reiterated the central bank's commitment to restoring price stability. His testimony coincided with heightened tensions involving Iran and concerns over potential disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, helping drive crude prices higher and tempering optimism generated by the benign inflation data.

Second-quarter earnings season also got off to a solid start, with five of the largest U.S. banks reporting results that benefited from strong trading activity and improved dealmaking.

Among S&P 500 sectors, technology .SPLRCT led gains, while healthcare .SPXHC lagged. Semiconductor stocks .SOX and precious-metals miners .XAU were among the market's strongest performers.

Financial shares .SPSY and the big banks index .SPXBK briefly climbed to record intraday highs after the upbeat bank results, though much of their gains faded by the closing bell.

Software stocks .SPLRCIS underperformed after IBM's IBM.N preliminary estimates renewed concerns about AI-driven disruption in parts of the industry. IBM's 25.2% collapse marked a one-day drop for the stock worse than it suffered on the 1987 "Black Monday" crash.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood shortly after 4 p.m. ET.

(Terence Gabriel)

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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

STIFEL SAYS RECORD DISPERSION SIGNALS FRESH MARKET ROTATION CLICK HERE

BREAKOUT OR A FAKEOUT? TRADERS WATCH THE 10-YEAR YIELD CLICK HERE

WAR & PEACE & INFLATION: CPI, SMALL BUSINESS SENTIMENT CLICK HERE

MAIN US INDEXES RISE AS COOLING INFLATION OFFSETS SOFTWARE-SECTOR WEAKNESS CLICK HERE

S&P 500 FUTURES SLIGHTLY GREEN AFTER COOL CPI CLICK HERE

HALF-TIME IN EUROPE: LOOKING TOUGH CLICK HERE

NOT JUST ABOUT OIL, REMEMBER GAS CLICK HERE

GOLDILOCKS RETURNS TO EUROPE, BUT OIL'S THE SPOILER CLICK HERE

BROAD-BASED LOSSES DRAG STOXX 600 LOWER CLICK HERE

BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE SOFT AS US KICKS OFF EARNINGS SEASON CLICK HERE

FED IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS WARSH FACES CONGRESS CLICK HERE