U.S. stock indexes rose on Monday, led by gains in large-cap technology, with the S&P 500 up 0.73%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.64% and the Nasdaq 100 up 1.08%. Futures pointing to the open also moved higher, as investors weighed a calmer near-term outlook for Middle East tensions and digested shifting rate expectations.
Stocks found support after the United States and Iran indicated they would pause attacks and allow vessels to move through the Strait of Hormuz while peace talks are set to resume in Doha on Tuesday. The risk-on tone was mirrored elsewhere: oil prices increased on the earlier flare-up in regional tensions, and U.S. Treasury yields fluctuated as traders assessed the balance between inflation risk and reduced safe-haven demand.
Key takeaways
- Index move: The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.08%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.73% as tech strength outweighed losses in some chip-related names.
- Catalyst: Markets stabilized after the U.S. and Iran agreed to pause hostilities for now and resume talks, while investors also reacted to oil-price volatility tied to the Strait of Hormuz.
- Rates watch: The pressure on U.S. Treasury yields reflected higher crude oil prices and inflation expectations, even as demand for safe havens eased.
- Implication: Investor focus remained split between geopolitical-driven energy inflation risk and earnings- and positioning-driven leadership in major technology stocks.
What drove the move
Broad market gains were led by the “Magnificent Seven” group of technology and platform companies. Amazon.com rose more than 4%, alongside strength in Tesla, Alphabet and Meta Platforms, each up more than 3%. Microsoft and Nvidia also advanced, while Apple was an exception, trading down 0.56%.
Beyond mega-cap tech, software names helped sustain the advance. Palantir Technologies and Datadog gained more than 4%, and Atlassian and ServiceNow rose more than 3%. Adobe Systems, Intuit, Autodesk, Workday and Salesforce also climbed, supporting the view that investors continued to favor parts of the software complex.
Offsetting that momentum, the market saw pockets of weakness in chipmakers and AI infrastructure shares. SanDisk fell more than 7%, Micron Technology dropped more than 6%, and Intel declined more than 3%. Several other semiconductor names including ARM, Marvell Technology and AMD traded lower.
Market reaction: energy, geopolitics and rates
Oil prices moved higher earlier as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalated, but crude futures later pulled back from their best levels after the U.S. and Iran agreed to stop attacking each other for now and to allow shipping to pass through the waterway. WTI crude was up more than 1% on the day.
The bond market reacted to the energy-driven inflation concern. September 10-year Treasury futures were down 2 ticks, with the 10-year yield rising by 0.8 basis points to 4.376%. Traders pointed to rising crude prices lifting inflation expectations, while equity strength reduced demand for Treasuries as a safe haven.
European rates were mixed, with the 10-year German bund yield up 1.4 basis points to 2.865% and the 10-year UK gilt yield down 0.1 basis points to 4.730%. In the Eurozone, economic confidence improved, with the June indicator rising by 1.3 to 95.0, beating expectations of 94.3. Eurozone money supply also came in stronger, with May M3 increasing 3.2% year-over-year versus expectations of 2.7%.
In Europe, swaps were pricing a 7% chance of a 25 basis point ECB rate hike at the next policy meeting on July 23. Separately in the U.S., markets were discounting a 29% chance of a 25 basis point Fed rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on July 28–29.
Notable stock movers
Several corporate headlines drove single-name moves across major indexes. Iridium Communications surged more than 21% after Rocket Lab agreed to acquire the company for about $8 billion, or $54 per share.
Roblox rose more than 15% following an upgrade by Arete Research Services LLP to buy from neutral, with a price target of $95. Charter Communications climbed more than 13% after Bloomberg reported the company had discussed partnering on a consumer phone offering with SpaceX.
Axon Enterprise gained more than 12% after a CNBC report said President Trump bought $5 million of the stock two weeks before the company signed a $220 million contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Comcast also rose more than 8% after announcing plans to separate its media businesses from its cable-TV and internet operations, though the telecom-news spillover pressured other carriers.
In contrast, T-Mobile US and AT&T fell more than 6% each after the separation plan weighed on the group. Verizon Communications dropped more than 7% after saying it expects to record a loss of about $700 million to $800 million in the second quarter following a deal with BT Group to create a joint venture for their international businesses.
Other notable movers included: Viridian Therapeutics up more than 7% after the FDA approved its drug for treating an inflammatory disorder affecting tissues around the eyes; and Martin Marietta Materials down more than 6% after agreeing to combine with Lhoist North America in a transaction valued at $13.5 billion. Biohaven declined more than 4% after Bank of America Global Research downgraded the stock to underperform from neutral, while Progressive slipped more than 1% after Wells Fargo Securities lowered its rating to underweight from equal weight.
Bigger picture
With oil and geopolitics driving near-term uncertainty, investors appeared to balance energy-driven inflation risk against a reduction in immediate tail-risk from the U.S.-Iran standoff. At the same time, stock leadership remained concentrated, with mega-cap and software names offsetting weakness in certain semiconductor and AI-adjacent names.
Looking ahead, traders will likely focus on how futures pricing for both the Fed and the ECB develops as markets weigh inflation sensitivity from energy prices. Key upcoming catalysts include additional corporate results and upcoming central-bank and macroeconomic data that could shift expectations for the path of interest rates.
