Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, United States, on July 16, 2026.
Brendan McDiarmid | reuters
S&P 500 Oil prices fell on Monday as they rose in response to the latest spate of military exchanges between the US and Iran.
The broader market index fell 0.19% to 7,443.28, while nasdaq composite It closed at 25,508.07, down 0.05%. Dow Jones Industrial Average Falling 307.16 points or 0.59% to 51,839.26. More than 2% decline in Apple Stocks dragged down the 30-stock index.
The US carried out its ninth consecutive day of attacks on Iran overnight, but investor sentiment improved by the afternoon in London after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai raised hopes of a diplomatic solution.
Baghai told reporters that intermediaries have continued to exchange messages with Iran amid the latest round of U.S. strikes, adding that talks between the two adversaries can be held on the basis of national interests.
That said, oil prices started rising again after President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that Iran would pay “many times over” for the deaths of three US service members. US crude futures closed at $83.23 per barrel, up 0.9% against international benchmarks brent closed up about 1.3% at $89.22.
Additionally, the Houthis in Yemen announced a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia.
Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli wrote, “Investors still do not think Trump has the tolerance for a physical increase (i.e. deploying troops) to the US military position in the Middle East and, if so, some type of diplomatic solution is inevitable.”
Chip makers tried to recoup some of their heavy losses from last week. micron technology was the main leader of gains with a gain of about 2%. Astera Labs While there was an increase of 1.9% Teradyne increased by 3.5%. advanced precision instruments 1.6% added. VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) It was a little more.
“The semiconductor and AI trade is going through a healthy reality check,” said Darrell Cronk, president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute and chief investment officer of Wealth & Investment Management. “The recent technical decline increases the risk of a deeper pullback toward long-term support levels, including the 200-day moving average.”
“While a short-term strategic rebound would not be surprising given oversold conditions, the intermediate-term bullishness has been disrupted,” he said.
Last week, three major US indexes closed in the red due to pressure on chip stocks. SMH saw its third weekly decline in four weeks.
