S&P 500, Dow tick higher as investors weigh Mideast negotiations

June 22 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and ​the Dow inched higher on Monday, led by technology and financial shares, as investors assessed progress in the latest round of U.S.-Iran ‌negotiations.

U.S. and Iranian officials made “encouraging progress” at the first round of their talks in Switzerland that ended early on Monday, mediators said, although tension persisted over Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz.

Memory chipmakers moved higher, with Micron Technology (MU.O), opens new tab and Sandisk (SNDK.O), opens new tab gaining about 3% each.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index (.SOX), opens new tab rose 1.3% to a ​fresh record high. Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab and Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab were up 2% and 1%, respectively.

Seven out of 11 major S&P 500 sectors ​were in the green, with financials (.SPSY), opens new tab leading gains with a 1% rise.

Communication services (.SPLRCL), opens new tab was a laggard, falling ⁠2.3%. Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and SpaceX declined 3.8% and 7.9%, respectively, also weighing on the Nasdaq.

Oil prices fell as much as 2%, as Washington and Tehran agreed during the ​talks to a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days.

Hopes of a peace deal helped the three key indexes end with significant ​weekly gains on Thursday, with the Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab gaining 2.4% as technology shares continued to drive markets higher.

“While markets have been resilient in recent weeks in the hope the Middle East conflict can be resolved and we don’t see a persistent high inflationary environment, the Middle East conflict is still a live ​issue and that means investors aren’t going into full-blown risk-on mood,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

At 9:53 a.m. ET, ​the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 261.38 points, or 0.51%, to 51,826.08, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab gained 23.77 points, or 0.32%, to 7,524.35 and the Nasdaq ‌Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab lost ⁠1.52 points, or 0.01%, to 26,515.06.

AI-driven optimism has supported Wall Street’s recent rally, while a resilient economy and hopes for an end to the four-month-long Middle East conflict have bolstered the broader market.
The next test for the rally will be Micron’s quarterly results on Wednesday. Shares of the memory chipmaker have risen almost 300% for the year.

A key focus this week will be on Thursday’s personal consumption ​expenditures (PCE) data, the Federal Reserve’s preferred ​gauge of core inflation. A ⁠hotter-than-expected reading is likely to reinforce expectations of a hawkish Federal Reserve after Chair Kevin Warsh underscored the need to curb inflation at last week’s meeting.

Markets currently expect a 25-basis-point rate hike from ​the Fed in September, according to LSEG data. Yields on 2-year notes, which reflect near-term rate ​expectations, hit their ⁠highest level since early 2025 at 4.230% earlier in the day.

Comments from central bank speakers this week, including New York President John Williams and Chicago President Austan Goolsbee, will also be closely watched for policy signals.

Among other movers, Apogee Therapeutics (APGE.O), opens new tab jumped nearly 47% after AbbVie said it would acquire ⁠the biotech ​for $10.9 billion in cash. AbbVie was up 4.7%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.2-to-1 ​ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.49-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and 19 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite ​recorded 103 new highs and 74 new lows.