Oil Spikes to Six-Week High as US Strikes Iran for 12th Night

Y’all Street Daily

Crude’s surge past $90 rattled equities and pulled gold and silver back from two-week highs, while a cloud blowout from Alphabet gave tech one clear bright spot.

Market Snapshot

All figures are indicative levels as of this morning, July 23.

Risk came off across the board as oil did the talking, with the Nasdaq the weakest of the majors as money rotated out of tech and into energy, mining and utilities.

Gold and silver both slipped from two-week highs as a firmer rate outlook offset their usual safe-haven bid, while the VIX pushed higher to show where the stress is building.

Alphabet is the standout after cloud revenue crushed expectations, with its contracted backlog climbing above $500 billion.

Tesla eased following an earnings miss, while Exxon Mobil rode the crude rally higher, the clearest single-stock read on where the day’s flows were going.

Main Story

Oil is running the market, and everything else is reacting to it.

WTI jumped around 3.8% to around $90.14, a six-week high, after US Central Command carried out a 12th straight night of strikes on Iran and reports surfaced of tanker attacks off Saudi Arabia.
The mainstream read is a straightforward war premium, with more strikes and more risk to Strait of Hormuz shipping pushing crude higher.
What the tape may be underpricing is the second-order move, since a roughly 35% monthly gain in Brent revives inflation worry and quietly trims the odds of a near-term Fed cut.

Chart of the Day

The Nasdaq is the cleanest read on today’s rotation.

After a chip-led push toward 25,900 earlier in the week, the index slipped back around 0.6% as money moved out of tech and into energy and other hard-asset plays.

The line to watch is whether it holds its recent range or the pullback deepens as oil keeps the pressure on rate expectations.

Technical Trading

A few levels worth watching after today’s move.

WTI cleared its prior range top around $86 to print a six-week high near $90, its highest since June 8.
The Dollar Index is holding above its 100-day moving average, with support around 100.60 and resistance around 101.45.
Gold stalled at its July 7 high around $4,150 and slipped back toward the $4,100 psychological level, cooling an overbought run.

Global News

US Central Command carried out a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran after President Trump vowed to hit Iranian infrastructure for every attack on Hormuz shipping.
Reports of tanker attacks off Saudi Arabia’s coast raised fears of wider disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key oil chokepoints.
Brent’s roughly 35% monthly gain, among its biggest in a decade, is reviving inflation worry and trimming bets on a near-term Fed rate cut.
Alphabet reported cloud revenue that far surpassed forecasts, with a contracted backlog above $500 billion, a reminder AI demand is still compounding.

Texas News

ExxonMobil, legally domiciled in Texas since July 1, is one of the day’s clearest winners as crude pushes toward $90.

Its leaner post-move board takes over right as higher oil margins reshape the earnings outlook for the state’s largest energy name.

Looking Ahead

Friday, July 24: Markets close the week gauging whether crude’s spike sticks, since any Hormuz escalation over the weekend would gap oil higher on Monday.

Friday, August 1: ExxonMobil and Chevron are due to report, the first big read on how surging crude is translating into oil-major profits.

The Y’all Street Podcast

In Episode 46, Evan sits down with Trey Bowles, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of 1845 Ventures, for a conversation on building companies from the ground up.

Bowles walks through his path across the Texas startup scene and the lessons that have shaped how he backs and mentors founders today.