- Summary
- Companies
June 1 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes stayed near record levels on Monday after oil prices spiked on mounting skepticism that a deal to end the three-month-old U.S.-Iran war could be reached soon, while Nvidia’s latest AI push kept losses in check.
Heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab rose 3.9% after unveiling a new chip that puts AI capabilities directly into laptops and desktop computers following a three-year partnership with Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab. Microsoft shares added 2.5% and PC makers Dell (DELL.N), opens new tab and HP (HPQ.N), opens new tab jumped 9% and 7.3%, respectively.
The reaction in semiconductor stocks was mixed. Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tab tumbled 6.7%, while PC chipmakers AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab and Intel fell 2.6% and 0.1%, respectively. Micron (MU.O), opens new tab gained 5.7% to $1,022, topping the $1,000 mark for the first time and extending its scorching rally.
“There’s real money coming into these companies, so it’s an interesting place to be. But that all said, all it takes is one negative headline to kind of push us back in the wrong direction,” said Ryan Lee, Direxion’s senior vice president of product and strategy.
The broader mood was somber, with oil prices climbing 5% after Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran was halting indirect negotiations with the U.S. over attacks on Lebanon.
“The reality of this conflict is the longer it goes on, the higher oil prices will likely get driven up and… you will feel those ripple effects across every corner of the market,” Lee said.
Wall Street’s main indexes ended May at record highs, buoyed by hopes of an eventual end to the war and blowout first-quarter earnings. Optimism around AI has also helped boost U.S. equities, but concerns over the economic impact from the hostilities persist.
Investors will turn to Friday’s jobs report ahead of Kevin Warsh’s debut policy meeting as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve this month, amid fears of rising inflation linked to the Iran war that could upend the stock market rally.
Traders have priced in a near 70% chance of a quarter-point rate hike before the end of the year.
At 11:22 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab fell 136.66 points, or 0.27%, to 50,897.15, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab was unchanged, or 0.00%, to 7,580.05, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab rose 47.54 points, or 0.18%, to 27,020.16.
Nine of the 11 main S&P 500 sectors were in the red, with only tech (.SPLRCT), opens new tab and energy (.SPNY), opens new tab in positive territory.
Software stocks rebounded from the h