Summary of market mood
U.S. stocks extended their record run Monday but traded with less momentum after weekend uncertainty over the next phase of the Iran war, while oil prices moved higher. The S&P 500 inched up to its latest all-time high, the Dow fell, and the Nasdaq rose as traders weighed energy costs and an earnings-heavy stretch ahead on Wall Street.
Oil prices led the day’s move higher, with prices climbing more than 2.5% as tankers continued to find the Strait of Hormuz “still effectively closed,” keeping crude trapped in the region. That disruption also left Iran-produced oil constrained by a U.S. Navy blockade, according to the report, a setup that has kept global crude supply tighter than usual.
The oil market reaction came alongside competing diplomacy signals. Iran offered to reopen the strait if the United States ended its blockade and proposed that talks on its nuclear program would come later, but U.S. President Donald Trump appeared unlikely to accept the offer. The report said Trump’s weekend message to U.S. envoys indicated they should not go to Pakistan, where the country has played a mediating role.
As U.S. stocks drifted in early trading, investors looked toward a scheduled rush of major corporate reports starting midweek. The report described Wednesday as the day for earnings from Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft, with Apple set to report on Thursday, framing the week as potentially “blockbuster” for market-moving guidance.
In individual-stock news, Verizon Communications rose 1.5% after reporting it added more postpaid phone customers than it lost during the first quarter for the first time since 2013, and after raising its forecast for profit growth this year. Domino’s Pizza fell 8.8% after reporting weaker profit and revenue than analysts expected for the latest quarter.
Broad market totals reflected the mixed tone. The S&P 500 rose 8.83 points to 7,137.91; the Dow slipped 62.92 to 49,167.79; and the Nasdaq composite rose 50.50 to 24,887.10, moving in opposite directions as energy-related pressure met steady expectations for earnings.
In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher after oil moved up, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.33% from 4.31% late Friday. Oil’s strength fed into the outlook for rates and inflation, the report noted, just as traders prepared for the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday announcement.
For the Fed, Wednesday’s decision was expected to hold the federal funds rate steady, and the report said it would likely be the final meeting led by Chair Jerome Powell before his scheduled term ends next month. Trump has already named Kevin Warsh as Powell’s replacement, while the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England also scheduled their interest-rate decisions during the week.
Outside the United States, the report said European indexes slipped after a stronger finish in Asia, with South Korea’s Kospi rising 2.2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1.4% for two of the world’s bigger moves.