Oil Price Surge Caps US Stock Market's Gains
The US stock market experienced a relatively quiet day on Monday, with all three major indexes moving only slightly from their previous close.
The S&P 500 held steady at just above its record high set on Friday, rising by 0.05% as of noon ET. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 0.13%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.19%.
The minor fluctuations were largely due to the ongoing negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz, which have stalled again after Iran raised new demands and Houthi forces hit a Red Sea port. This has resulted in Brent crude oil prices rising past $86 per barrel, wiping out most of last week's slide.
The Magnificent 7, a group of large-cap tech stocks, pulled the market in two different directions. Microsoft rose by 2.1%, adding about 62 Dow points to the S&P 500, while Amazon and Meta Platforms also saw gains. However, Nvidia fell by 2% after reports suggested it might cut back on high-bandwidth memory chips to protect its margins.