Stocks closed mixed yesterday with the big three indexes (Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq) ending moderately lower, while the small-cap Russell 2000, and mid-cap S&P 400 were moderately higher.

Uncertainty surrounding the state of the Strait of Hormuz continues. Iran and Oman say a deal is "very close," but not enough to open. (Plus, the U.S. will have to approve it.) The U.S. says a deal could come "soon," but Iran denies it. So, for now, it's a lot of words, as has been the case for a while.

In the meantime, unknown projectiles hit multiple vessels in the Strait and Red Sea. And the U.S. fired on a cargo ship attempting to run the Naval blockade.

Crude oil was up on the news gaining about 1.5% on the day.

In other news, yesterday's NFIB Small Business Optimism Index improved to 99.8 vs. last month's 97.4 and views for 97.3.

And Existing Home Sales came in at 4.06 million units (annualized) vs. last month's 4.13M and estimates for 4.05M, for a -1.7% change. On a y/y basis it was up 0.7%.

Today we'll get MBA Mortgage Applications. And the Consumer Price Index (CPI) retail inflation report.

Recent headline inflation numbers have come in as expected, and core inflation has been coming in better than expected and falling ? showing that structural inflation is indeed easing.

Today's CPI is expected to show the headline rate ticking up by 0.1% m/m vs. last month's -0.4% pace. The y/y rate is expected to ease to 3.4% from last month's 3.5%. The core rate (ex-food & energy) is expected to come in at 0.2% m/m vs. last month's 0.0%. The y/y rate is forecast at 2.5% vs. last month's 2.6%.

Earnings season continues.

Yesterday after the close, we heard from CoreWeave, and they posted a positive EPS surprise of 8.85%, and a positive sales surprise of 1.52%. That translated to a deepening loss of -$1.03 vs. -$0.27 from last year at this time for a negative -282% EPS growth rate, but a positive sales growth of 113% ($2.58B vs. $1.21B). Their CapEx jumped to $35-$39B for the year, up from $31-$35 previously, which weighed on profits. But their revenue backlog grew to $104B. They raised their 2026 revenue guidance to a midpoint of $12.8B vs. previous guidance of $12.5B. And they raised their Q3 rev guidance to $3.5B from $3.43B, which would represent a 158% growth rate. They were up 2.42% in the regular session before earnings, and were up another 13% in after-hours trade following earnings.

Today we'll hear from another 339 companies on deck to report, including Nebius before the open and Cisco after the close.

Should be a busy day today.

Could be even busier if there's any news out of the Middle East.

But will be busy enough even without it.

See you tomorrow,