The S&P 500 fell on Monday as oil prices advanced in response to the latest bout of military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran. Chipmakers also traded higher to give U.S. equity markets a boost.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 305.14 points to 51,841.28
The much broader index lost 14.22 points to 7,443.47
The NASDAQ Composite removed 12.17 points to 25,508.07.
Micron Technology was a key leader of the advance, climbing more than 1%. Astera Labs gained more than 2%, while Teradyne rose 3%. Advanced Micro Devices added around 2%.
The U.S. completed its ninth consecutive day of strikes on Iran overnight, but investor sentiment improved by midmorning in London after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei lifted hopes for a diplomatic settlement.
Baghaei told reporters that intermediaries had continued to exchange messages with Iran amid the latest round of U.S. strikes, and said negotiations between the two adversaries could be pursued based on national interests.
That said, U.S. crude futures were last little changed at around $82 per barrel, reversing an earlier gain. International benchmark Brent also eased from levels seen overnight, trading up marginally at nearly $88.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury backpedaled, raising yields to 4.59% from Friday’s 4.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 60 cents to $83.09 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated six dollars to $4.012.80 U.S. an ounce.
