(Updates with market moves at the end of the day.)
US stocks ended mixed in what turned out to be a choppy session on Monday as oil prices tumbled, with investors awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision and major earnings releases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 52,210.08, while the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.2% to 24,932.08. The S&P 500 settled just above the flatline at 7,413.18. Most sectors were in the green, led by consumer staples, while energy saw the steepest decline.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 8% at $82.19 a barrel in Monday late-afternoon trade, while Brent slumped 9.2% to $87.90.
US President Donald Trump told Axios on Monday that the US is in "very deep talks" with Iran, though he said military action could resume if diplomacy fails. His remarks came as the US apparently halted strikes against Iran.
Oman is conducting talks with Iran, but Qatar, Pakistan and Egypt are also actively involved in the process, Axios reported.
"While this is the first tangible signal of de-escalation, the reasons behind it are less clear," ING Bank said in a report. "There's little explanation from the US. Also, it hasn't yet led to any meaningful pickup in vessel flows through the Strait of Hormuz."
Treasury yields were lower, with the 10-year rate down 3.2 basis points at 4.65% and the two-year rate falling 1.1 basis points to 4.35%.
The Federal Open Market Committee kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with a decision on interest rates due the following day. The probability of the central bank leaving its benchmark lending rate unchanged currently stands at 62%, with the remaining odds in favor of a quarter-percentage-point increase, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
UBS Securities expects three dissents as a base case, but said it won't be surprised to see two more pushing for a rate hike.
Tech giants Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) are scheduled to release their latest financial results later this week, along with Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), ExxonMobil (XOM), Coca Cola (KO), Procter & Gamble (PG), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Boeing (BA).
In company news, Nvidia (NVDA) has agreed to expand its partnership with South Korean conglomerate SK Group through an artificial intelligence infrastructure initiative expected to be worth more than $500 billion. The deal 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 5%, the worst performer on the Dow, while SK Hynix slumped 7.5%.
TransDigm Group (TDG) agreed to acquire specialty metal maker Prince & Izant from private equity firm Industrial Growth Partners for about $1.07 billion in cash. TransDigm shares advanced 4%.
Gold edged up 0.3% to $4,083.90 per troy ounce, while silver lost 0.2% to $58.80 per ounce.
