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Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Chipmakers Drop, Pause in Iran Strikes Sinks Crude Oil

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(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)

US equity indexes traded mixed as concerns over circular investments in the artificial intelligence industry hurt chipmakers and a third consecutive day of pause in Iran strikes sank crude oil.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% to 52,210.08, and the S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% to 7,413.18 on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 24,932.08.

Technology was the third-worst performer after energy and utilities. Among companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, seven of the 10 worst performers were from the semiconductor and semiconductor equipment and materials industries.

Nvidia (NVDA) has agreed to expand its partnership with South Korean conglomerate SK Group through an artificial intelligence infrastructure initiative valued at more than $500 billion. The deal announced Saturday includes a long-term partnership between Nvidia and SK Hynix (SKHY) that will provide the US technology giant a stable supply of next-generation AI memory. Nvidia's shares dropped 4.4%, the Dow's steepest decliner. The SK Hynix stock plummeted 5.6%.

Separately, Nvidia is in talks to provide a roughly $250 billion financial backstop for Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI as part of a massive data center project in southern Ohio that could cost more than $500 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), with net assets of $77.2 billion, fell 2.3%.

In geopolitical news, the US paused military attacks against Iran over the weekend, while Tehran also refrained from retaliatory action, according to a Commerzbank note. "They asked us very nicely, 'Please stop, let's meet,'" Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to CNN. "And that's where we are right now, see what happens. If we don't make a deal, we go back to the same thing."

Messages are still being passed between the sides through mediators, and Iran has not forsaken diplomacy, but reports that Iran is requesting negotiations are "fabricated," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday, according to Reuters.

Almost all of the 78 vessels that crossed the Strait of Hormuz since Saturday used the route designated by Iran, and none were recorded using the southern route near Oman's coast promoted by the US, CNN cited Mariks, a shipping industry intelligence provider, in its news report.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate sank 8.3% to $81.91 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent plunged 9.4% to $87.70 a barrel.

Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year down three basis points to 4.65% and the two-year lower by 1.1 basis points to 4.32%, as lower crude oil prices bode well for the 2% inflation target.

In precious metal markets, gold futures rose 0.3% to $4,083.9, while silver futures edged down 0.2% to $58.80.

In economic news, new orders for US durable goods rose by 0.3% in June following a decline of 4.0% in May compared with the expectations for 1.8% in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Excluding a 0.2% decrease in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 0.6% in June after a 1.8% increase in May. Expectations were for a 0.8% gain.

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