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US Equity Markets End Lower as Oil Prices Rise Amid US-Iran Escalation, Threats to Saudi Oil Shipments

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US equity indexes ended lower on Monday as crude oil prices rose amid escalating attacks by the US and Iran in the Middle East and the Houthis declaring a blockade of Saudi Arabian oil shipments.

* Iran said mediators have been in touch with proposals on how to ease hostilities with the US after nine days of clashes, while tensions remained high after a threat by the Tehran-backed Houthi group against Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reported. Houthis in Yemen said Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.

* The Conference Board's measure of leading indicators declined by 0.2% in June, larger than the 0.1% decrease expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

* August West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $0.45 to settle at $82.94 per barrel, while September Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.78 at $88.88.

* Global Payments' (GPN) improved buyback capacity, constructive channel checks on the Genius platform and the Worldpay business, low bar for execution, and rising investor interest create a meaningful rerating potential, Morgan Stanley said in a Monday research note. Shares were up 5.8%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.

* Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) shares were down about 4.3%, the worst performer on the Nasdaq, after UBS initiated the stock with a neutral rating and a $231 price target. The company also said it has signed new contracts to deliver its Surface Alerts runway safety technology to Aeromexico.

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(Updates with index/price moves and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes slumped as growth sectors sold off while crude oil jumped amid Washington intensifying strikes against Iran.The Nasdaq dropped 1.9% to 25,485.1, with the S&P 500 down 0.7% to 7,479.3 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 0.1% to 52,492.5 after midday Friday.Communication services, technology, and consumer discretionary led decliners, while energy topped the gainers.Netflix (NFLX), part of the communication services sector, reported mixed fiscal Q2 results overnight, with earnings above consensus while sales missed, and Q3 guidance lagging market expectations. Shares sank 7.5%, helping lead the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lower.In geopolitical news, US Central Command said in a post on X that it completed the sixth consecutive wave of attacks against Iran, degrading the nation's military capabilities and holding it "accountable" for recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iranian infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran's coast or islands, Reuters reported.An Iranian military spokesman said the Strait of Hormuz will "never return to what it was before the 40-day war," Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate jumped 3.5% to $81.68 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent advanced 3.2% to $86.90 a barrel.

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