Today's early hours felt like a repeat of Monday courtesy of higher crude oil and relatively flat stock trading near last week's record highs. The dog days of summer are here, characterized by thin volume, narrow index moves, and a lighter earnings flow, while market participants cast a wary eye on Treasury yields that keep tightening the vise.

Today could see muted trading ahead of tomorrow's 8:30 a.m. ET July Consumer Price Index (CPI). Earnings from AI-related firms this afternoon including CoreWeave (CRWV) could lend the tech sector direction before Cisco's (CSCO) results tomorrow. Crude came off early peaks as Bloomberg reported progress toward a peace arrangement, citing Pakistan's defense minister, though traffic through the contested Strait of Hormuz remained extremely thin.

Crude and yields stalled Wall Street's parade Monday, sending the broader market down for the third session in the last four, while softness in Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) kept tech at bay. Several Treasury auctions could give clues about demand for U.S. debt, starting with 3-year notes today. Poor results might suggest loftier yields ahead, perhaps putting more pressure on stocks when the 30-year yield is already near 20-year highs.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is lower by ~1 basis points to 4.686%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is higher by 0.01 at 99.82.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) September futures are higher by 0.54% to $82.57/barrel.

Gold prices have traded in a range of $4,415.70-4,495.00 and were last seen trading higher by ~0.78% to $4,454.10/oz.

Natural Gas prices for September futures have traded in a range of $2.745-2.819 today and were last seen trading lower by 1.43% to $2.754.

Bitcoin (BTC) is lower by ~0.27% over the last 24 hours to $63,736.63 today.

Joining the 52-week high club this morning is Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH + $10.96 to $248.14) after the provider of healthcare services and products reported fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings of $2.91 per share ($0.49 beat) on Q4 revenue that increased 6% year-over-year (YoY) to $63.70B (below the $65.029B expected). Looking ahead, the company said it expects non-GAAP EPS for fiscal 2027 to come in a range of $12.40-12.60, which is above the $12.08 analysts were modeling. Calls and puts are trading roughly even with the August 14^th 265.00 call being the highest volume contract (volume is 144).

Also trading to the upside this morning is Grupo Cibest S.A. (CIB + $7.20 to $98.67) after JPMorgan upgraded the Columbia-based financial services provider to “Overweight” from “Neutral” and hiked their price target on the stock to $110.00 from $70.00. Analysts at JPMorgan said that “higher for longer” interest rates in Columbia have been “very powerful” for CIB and believe net interest margin and fee resiliency may continue to benefit the company in the coming quarters. Option volume is relatively light at the time of this writing with the August 2^1st 105.00 call being the highest volume contract (volume is 100).

New 52-week highs (102 new highs today): Cheesecake Factory Inc. (CAKE + $1.24 to $112.43), Eaton Corp. (ETN + $15.48 to $460.44), Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC + $10.65 to $330.97)

Some unusual call activity (~12:1 calls over puts) is being seen in Medtronic PLC (MDT + $0.75 to $90.16) as option traders primarily target the September 18^th 100.00 call. Volume on this contract is 19,312 (vs. open interest of 1,704), which included an 8,160 contract block that was bought for $0.78 when the bid/ask spread was $0.56 x $0.80. We know that this block is a new position based on the open interest figure and we can assume that the intent is bullish in nature since the trade took place above the midpoint of the bid/ask spread.

Shares of AECOM Inc. (ACM - $5.21 to $68.09) are under pressure this morning after the infrastructure consulting company reported a Q3 adjusted loss of $0.50 per share (much worse than the $1.47 profit expected) on Q3 sales that decreased 14.17% YoY to $3.586B (well above the $2.024B consensus estimate). Regarding guidance, ACM lowered its full-year 2026 GAAP EPS forecast to a range of $3.95-4.15 from $5.90-6.10. Brokerages Baird and Bank of America Securities lowered their price targets on the stock (to $73 and $81, respectively) following the report. Calls are slightly outnumbering puts with the September 18^th 75.00 put being the highest volume contract (volume is 95).

Also trading to the downside this morning is On Holding AG (ONON - $7.38 to $31.40) after the sneaker and sports apparel maker reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.44 per share ($0.03 beat) on Q2 sales that increased 18.65% YoY to $1.076B (below the $1.11B expected). Looking ahead, ONON guided full-year 2026 sales to a range of $4.39-4.503B, the midpoint of which is below the $4.49B consensus estimate. Shares of ONON are trading at a 52-week low today. Calls are slightly outnumbering puts but the August 14^th 38.00 put is the highest volume contract (volume is 2,561).

New 52-week lows (54 new lows today): AppLovin Corp. (APP - $12.65 to $326.35), Post Holdings Inc. (POST - $2.11 to $76.58), Wingstop Inc. (WING - $0.98 to $116.54)

Some unusual put activity (~100:1 puts over calls) is being seen in Viatris Inc. (VTRS - $0.03 to $16.25) which is primarily being driven by a 6,700 contract block that was bought on the January 2027 15.00 put at the ask price of $0.90 (open interest is 974). We know that this block is a new position based on the open interest figure, and we can assume that the intent is bearish in nature since the trade took place at the ask price.

Quantum Corp. (QMCO + $6.13 to $17.91): Option volume is running at ~167x the daily average on this data management solutions provider as option traders primarily target the December 18^th 30.00 call. Volume on this contract is 2,906 versus open interest of 9, so it’s likely that nearly all the volume represents fresh positioning. The bulk of the transactions consisted of various-sized blocks that were bought at various times for between $2.05-2.15 each, which suggests bullish intent. Shares of QMCO are trading ~50% higher today after the company posted a “beat and raise” quarter last night after the bell.

Crane NXT Co. (CXT + $0.71 to $52.20): Option volume is running at ~116x the daily average on this industrial technology company which is primarily being driven by activity on the March 2027 70.00 call. Volume on this contract is 1,791 versus open interest of 0, so we know that all the volume represents fresh positioning (assuming no day trades). The bulk of the transactions consisted of various-sized blocks that were bought at various times for between $1.00-1.30 each, which suggests bullish intent.

Aramark Inc. (ARMK + $5.33 to $61.04): Option volume is running at ~14x the daily average on this provider of data center, food and facilities services to various industries which is primarily being driven by activity on the August 21^st 65.00 call. Volume on this contract is 5,067 versus open interest of 22, so it’s likely that nearly all the volume represents fresh positioning. The bulk of the transactions consisted of various-sized blocks that were bought at various times for between $0.15-0.20 each, which suggests bullish intent. Shares of ARMK are trading ~9% higher today after the company delivered a “beat and raise” quarter earlier this morning.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 0.02 to 15.44) has been on both sides of the unchanged line today (the intraday range is 15.23-15.61), as equity markets are mixed around the midday mark (DJI - 73, SPX - 12, $COMP – 120, RUT + 13). VIX option volume has been above average today at 654,801 contracts, and calls are outpacing puts roughly 8:1 so far today.