(Updates with index/price moves and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)
US equity indexes fell after President Donald Trump said he plans to reinstate a blockade on Iranian ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz while proposing a toll for providing "safety and security" to cargo crossings in the chokepoint to about a fifth of global crude oil flows.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.6% to 25,875.7, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3% to 52,500.5 and the S&P 500 lower by 0.7% to 7,521.5 ahead of Monday's close. Technology led decliners, while energy topped advancers. Chevron (CVX) was the Dow's second-biggest gainer, up 3.1%.
The front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent surged 8.8% to $82.66 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate soared 8.7% to $77.60 a barrel as tensions with Iran escalated at a time when Washington and Tehran ought to be engaged in negotiations to reach a final peace agreement within the 60-day period allocated for such talks as part of the June 21 interim deal.
"We are reinstating the IRANIAN BLOCKADE," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday, following a weekend of attacks on Iran.
"The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as "THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT," Trump said. The US "will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World."
On Sunday, the US Central Command said it completed a new wave of strikes against Tehran at multiple locations, after conducting attacks a day earlier in response to the country targeting another commercial ship transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by targeting US military facilities in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, according to local state media.