US stocks dipped on Monday, with chip stocks trimming gains ahead of Big Tech earnings this week, while oil prices were volatile after touching $90 a barrel amid tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran over the weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) edged just below the flat line to follow a volatile week that saw semiconductor stocks post losses.
The market is looking for the next catalyst for the artificial intelligence trade after a series of sector rotations in recent weeks. Wall Street has raised its expectations for quarterly results from Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Intel Corporation (INTC), IBM (IBM), and Tesla (TSLA), due later this week, as investors look for signs that companies are monetizing AI to accompany their huge investments in the AI build-out.
In the Middle East, the US-Iran war escalated again over the weekend after the US engaged in its ninth straight day of attacks and Iran retaliated by bombing US allies in the region, primarily Kuwait. The two sides remain far apart on a ceasefire agreement, even as the death toll from the conflict rises.
Oil prices turned higher again on Monday after President Trump stated that Iran “will pay” for the deaths of US military personnel and Yemen’s Houthi militia declared a blockade against Saudi Arabian oil exports. Still, Brent crude futures (BZ=F) remain well below their April and May peaks, suggesting energy markets may be starting to look beyond the Strait of Hormuz for alternative shipping routes for oil exports.