WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 14: Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill on July 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. <\/p>\n
Eric Lee | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Hello, this is Anniek Bao writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.<\/p>\n
Wall Street looked past geopolitical tensions with benchmark indexes rising on Big Tech strength and signs of easing inflation, even as Middle East hostilities escalated.<\/p>\n
A $53 billion takeover bid for PayPal sent its stock soaring, while SpaceX learnt that what goes up fast will likely come down swiftly, as its stock fell below its IPO price.<\/p>\n
Over in Washington, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh spent his Senate testimony walking a tightrope \u2014 talking up the economy and interest rates while fielding questions about just how often he talks to the Trump administration. <\/p>\n
What you need to know today<\/p>\n The U.S. conducted several rounds of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, while President Donald Trump said the pressure was working, telling reporters that Iran now wants to meet. <\/p>\n Analysts warn the escalating hostilities risk a “forever war”<\/a> \u2014 a conflict that grinds on without a clean exit \u2014 with energy markets likely seeing an extended disruption. Oil was trading higher during Asia hours. <\/p>\n Unperturbed by geopolitics, major averages on Wall Street closed higher, powered by Big Tech gains and buoyed by easing inflation. Wholesale prices unexpectedly fell 0.3% in June<\/a>, driven by a big drop in gasoline \u2014 a welcome surprise that gives the Fed more room to maneuver. <\/p>\n Not everyone is celebrating the market rally though. Warren Buffett was critical of a stock market that he said is increasingly driven by speculative trading, as opposed to long-term investing. “It’s tough to find values when everybody is preferring gambling.” <\/p>\n The veteran investor told CNBC that he was the one who initiated the conglomerate’s recent big investment in Alphabet<\/a>, not Berkshire Hathaway’s<\/a> new CEO, Greg Abel.<\/p>\n Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh testified before the Senate banking committee, addressing questions on the economy<\/a> and factors that impact interest rates. Warsh said he meets “often” with the Trump administration<\/a>, while insisting the central bank’s decisions remain independent.<\/p>\n On the tech front, Anthropic is moving closer to a mega-IPO of its own<\/a>, with bankers lining up investor meetings for the AI company. A listing would put Anthropic ahead of rival OpenAI in reaching public markets and build on the momentum from SpaceX’s blockbuster June IPO. The AI lab was last valued at $965 billion.<\/p>\n Stripe<\/a> and Advent made a $53 billion takeover offer for PayPal<\/a>, sending the payment giant’s stock soaring. The companies made a $60.50 per share cash offer for the payments firm. PayPal hasn’t responded to the offer. <\/p>\n And SpaceX stock sank below its $135 IPO price for the first time<\/a> about a month after its\u00a0blockbuster debut<\/a>, as hype around the reusable rocket maker fizzled. The company is set to launch its 13th Starship test flight<\/a> on Thursday. <\/p>\n \u2014 Anniek Bao<\/p>\n And finally…<\/p>\n Kalshi traders see gas prices crossing $4 by end of July<\/a> <\/p>\n Odds that gas prices will go above $4 per gallon by the end of this month have jumped to 90% from 56% on Kalshi in the last two days.<\/p>\n Kalshi traders now see a 93% chance that gas prices will go above $4 per gallon and 63% that it will go over $4.10. The contract, which asks what the gas price in the U.S. will be this month, will be verified by\u00a0AAA.<\/a>\u00a0 <\/p>\n Wednesday’s national gas price is at $3.89, about 3 cents higher than Tuesday’s, according to AAA.<\/p>\n \u2014 Ananya Chetia<\/p>\n