What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after Iran's missile attack on commercial tankers near the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher and revived inflation fears, a double blow for the industrial sector squeezed simultaneously by rising fuel costs and rising borrowing costs. 

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) fell about 2%, with airlines, machinery, and transports leading the losses; United Airlines slid more than 3%. Brent crude rose toward $75 and WTI to around $71. The damage was broad across cyclicals as electronic-components and renewables names such as Corning, Enphase, and Plug Power fell far harder (7–9%), but the core industrial decline was measured, and notably smaller than the ~5% drop in semiconductors.

Iran fired at least two missiles at ships transiting Hormuz overnight, striking the Qatari LNG tanker Al-Rekayyat and damaging a Saudi crude tanker, ending a brief one-week truce and reasserting the fragility of the U.S.–Iran interim peace. Because the strait carries roughly 20% of the world's oil traffic, even a limited attack reinjects a geopolitical risk premium into energy prices. 

Fuel is a direct and major input for airlines, trucking, freight, machinery, and chemicals, so a jump in crude compresses operating margins immediately, which is why fuel-heavy sub-sectors led the decline. The oil-driven inflation impulse landed just as new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh turned hawkish as his June FOMC stripped the easing bias and nine of eighteen officials penciling in a 2026 hike. That pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to roughly 4.47%. Industrials are unusually rate-sensitive because they finance factories, fleets, and aircraft, so higher yields raise the cost of the capital the sector runs on.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• HVAC and Water Systems company Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ: NWPX) fell 6.4%. Is now the time to buy Northwest Pipe? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Electrical Systems company Powell (NASDAQ: POWL) fell 6.4%. Is now the time to buy Powell? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Gas and Liquid Handling company SPX Technologies (NYSE: SPXC) fell 6.4%. Is now the time to buy SPX Technologies? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Powell (POWL)

Powell’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 34 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 12 days ago when the stock gained 5.8% on the news that investors piled into AI-infrastructure names following strong results from a peer, Micron, reignited confidence in the long-term build-out of data center power systems. 

The rally was also fueled by bets that Powell's role in supplying custom electrical gear will translate into a growing order backlog as AI projects ramp up. Supporting this view, the company recently secured several large data center wins, which complement its steady stream of utility-related awards. In response to the demand, management announced plans to expand production capacity, positioning the company to capitalize on the growing need for specialized equipment in data centers and other infrastructure projects.

Powell is up 98.2% since the beginning of the year, but at $232.88 per share, it is still trading 27.7% below its 52-week high of $322.05 from May 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Powell’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $23,448.

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