Good morning and welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets right now.
Wall Street is treading carefully this session as U.S.-Iran tensions keep investors on edge. Strikes between the two nations have rattled sentiment, though hopes for diplomatic intervention are keeping crude from spiking dramatically. Supply disruption fears remain the dominant risk traders are pricing in heading into the weekend.
Shifting to earnings, Delta Air Lines posted second quarter profit that came in below last year's levels, with higher fuel costs eating into margins despite a nineteen percent jump in revenues. Demand held up broadly and management says execution was strong — notably, the airline affirmed its full-year two thousand twenty six outlook, which gave the stock some footing after the initial read.
And in the crypto space, Circle — the issuer behind the USDC stablecoin — cleared a significant regulatory hurdle after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved it to operate as a trust bank. That's a landmark moment for the digital asset industry, giving Circle access to the kind of institutional credibility that traditional finance commands. Shares surged twelve percent in premarket on the news.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
