A woman walks past war-themed graffiti and murals painted on walls along a street in the capital, Tehran, July 22, 2026, as daily life continues under the shadow of rising military tensions between the United States and Iran and as air defense systems are activated at night.
Fatemeh Bahrami | Anadolu | Getty Images
Hello, my name is Hui Jie from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
US President Donald Trump has stepped up his threats against Iran, saying he will bomb power plants and bridges in the country if it continues to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
It’s not just the straits that are a concern. Houthi rebels said they attacked a ship in the Red Sea, where the Bab al-Mandeb oil chokepoint is located.
The high-tech sector is also attracting attention, with Alphabet, Tesla, and IBM announcing their second quarter results.
What you need to know today
Some reports say regional mediators are working hard to calm the Iran conflict, but US President Donald Trump is raising the bar and escalating tensions.
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to bomb bridges and power plants in Iran if the Islamic Republic attacks ships in the Red Sea, including the capital Tehran, an action that experts say could amount to a war crime under international law.
Iran responded by threatening to attack U.S.-linked infrastructure and energy facilities across the region if the U.S. followed through on President Trump’s threats.
Energy markets, already worried about a resumption of hostilities, now have another cause for concern. Houthi rebels have deployed missiles and drones to attack ships in the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandab Strait, another key oil market barrier.
Since closing the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been diverting millions of barrels of oil per day through pipelines to export terminals in the Red Sea. These exports served as an important relief valve for the world oil market during the conflict.
If the Bab el-Mandeb is shut down, these barrels will be blocked and the chaos caused by the Iranian attack on the Hormuz tanker will be exacerbated.
international benchmark brent It rose more than 3% on Wednesday to close at $94.07 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose about 3% to settle at $86.83.
Brent crude oil rose 1.67% and WTI futures rose 1.39% in Asian trading on Thursday.
technology revenue
Investors are closely watching tech companies’ second-quarter earnings reports.
Alphabet on Wednesday reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, led by 82% growth in its cloud business.
Nevertheless, the stock fell about 3% after the company announced a significant increase in capital spending of $205 billion in 2026 to meet the surge in demand for artificial intelligence.
In another example of how AI remains firmly on Big Tech’s radar, Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with Anthropic, saying it will invest up to $5 billion in the artificial intelligence company “in the future.”
But not everything is rosy for every technology company out there.
Tesla reported lower-than-expected second-quarter profits even though sales beat expectations. As the company poured money into artificial intelligence and other research and development projects, it was hampered by falling profit margins and rising operating costs.
Despite issuing an earnings warning last week, IBM on Wednesday cut its 2026 forecast and announced weaker earnings than analysts expected.
