Crude oil cratered as much as 8% on Monday after Washington paused its strike campaign against Iran, but a brutal sell-off in semiconductors wiped out Wall Street's early relief rally, leaving the major averages mixed ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision and a wave of Magnificent Seven earnings.
"Iran wants to meet and we're meeting. There's a chance we can make a deal with Iran," President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One at about 12:25 p.m. ET.
West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled 7.4% to $83.75 a barrel after touching an intraday low of $82.11. Brent crude sank 8.7% to $89.82, sliding back below the $90 mark.
Treasury yields eased in tandem. The 10-year yield fell three basis points to 4.66% after closing last week at its highest level since January 2025, while the 2-year slipped two basis points to 4.33% and the 30-year eased three basis points to 5.14%.
Yet, rate markets assign roughly a one-in-three chance that the Fed delivers a quarter-point hike to 4% on Wednesday, with a September move priced at nearly 80%.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 7,391.14, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average held on to a gain of 0.3%, or about 170 points, at 52,117.67.
The Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.1% to 27,821.55, extending its July slide to more than 8%.
Within Magnificent Seven stocks, NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) slid 4.7% to $197.16 amid reports it is negotiating roughly $250 billion in financing guarantees to backstop OpenAI's Ohio data-center buildout, along with a Financial Times report that it will invest $5 billion in Ilya Sutskever's AI startup.
Monday's Performance In Major U.S. Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) slipped 0.3%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) rose 0.3%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) dropped 1.1%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) edged up 0.1%.
Software Soars, Chips Crater As AI Financing Jitters Meet Iran Relief
The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) led all sectors with a 1.9% advance, followed by the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP), up 1.2%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY), up 1.1%.
At the bottom, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) lost 1.5% as crude cratered, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) fell 1.1%.
The divide ran deepest inside tech: the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) jumped 3.9%, while the U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) climbed 2.8% on the prospect of cheaper fuel.
On the losing side, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) sank 3% — deepening a July drawdown of roughly 20% — while the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) shed 2.2%.
The wreckage was concentrated in memory players.
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) plunged 10% with no company announcement, as Chinese memory maker ChangXin Storage's blockbuster Shanghai debut — shares soared 466% — reignited fears of DRAM and NAND oversupply ahead of Sandisk's Aug. 5 report.
Fellow memory names Micron Technology Inc. (MU), Western Digital Corp. (WDC) and Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX) fell 4.4%, 4.7% and 4.6%, respectively.
Enterprise software staged its strongest session in months as investors rotated out of AI hardware and back into seat-based subscription names. Workday Inc. (WDAY) and Atlassian Corp. (TEAM) both gained 9.3%, while HubSpot Inc. (HUBS) rose over 10%.
Among Monday's Russell 1000 leaders, BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc. (BMNR) surged 13% after disclosing $11.8 billion in total crypto, cash and securities holdings — including 5.79 million ether, roughly 4.8% of global supply — and confirming it repurchased 6.1 million shares last week under its $4 billion buyback.
Robert Half Inc. (RHI) rallied 10.8% after BMO Capital Markets upgraded the staffing firm to Outperform with a $47 price target, calling last quarter the "operational bottom," while Truist lifted its target to $50.
RingCentral Inc. (RNG) added 10%, extending Friday's post-earnings pop after adjusted earnings of $1.22 per share beat the $1.17 consensus on revenue of $657 million, with raised full-year guidance and a 67% dividend hike.
Wayfair Inc. (W) climbed 10.2% with no fresh company news in the tape, extending momentum from Bank of America's price-target hike to $105 last week as retail names rallied broadly.
Consumer and travel names joined the party as oil sank: Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) gained 7.1%, alongside DoorDash Inc. (DASH), up 6.8%, and Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG), up 4.8%.
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) jumped 6.5% on nearly four times average volume after the USDA said it would resume cattle imports from Mexico, with beef peer JBS N.V. (JBS) rallying 9.1%.
Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) defied the energy selloff, rising 6.2% on second-quarter results featuring record orders of $10.5 billion, up 49% year over year, and adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share with EBITDA above the high end of guidance.
After the close, attention turns to results from Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS), Nucor Corp. (NUE) and F5 Inc. (FFIV), alongside Amkor Technology Inc. (AMKR).
