Asia Markets
Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Chipmakers Push Technology Lower, Bessent Unveils Plans to Choke Iran's Economy
(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, analyst comments, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes closed mixed as mega-cap semiconductor names pushed technology to the bottom of sector charts and crude oil extended declines after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled a plan to sever Iran's economic lifelines.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8% to 25,980.19, and the S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 7,652.86 on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the intraday trend, rising 0.3% to 53,417.16. All sectors except three rose, with consumer staples and financials emerging as top gainers.Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, nine of the bottom 10 names by intraday returns were in the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those nine firms, seven were related to the semiconductor industry. Sandisk (SNDK) led the pack of tech decliners, down 6.5%.Treasury Secretary Bessent unveiled "unprecedented" secondary sanctions to sever Tehran from the global economy.The US plans to impose sanctions on countries that do business with Iran, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey, Axios reported. "No one is above the reach of US sanctions," CNBC reported, citing Bessent on Monday in response to a question on whether the Trump administration would target Chinese banks."... we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Bessent said. The campaign targets five sectors that Treasury identified as vital to Iran's economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, he said.Ahead of the US announcement, Iran warned vessels violating its rules for transiting the Strait of Hormuz could face restrictions, including fines, detention or confiscation, according to Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster. Tehran has condemned US plans to announce new sanctions and vowed to retaliate against any country that supports Washington, as President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for a diplomatic solution.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract retreated 2.4% to $84.95 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 2.6% to $91.93 per barrel.Following the collapse of the US-Canada trade talks late on Friday, the US has imposed tariffs of 50% on $20 billion of goods imports from Canada, according to a note from Macquarie. The tariffs amount to about 0.03% of US gross domestic product and 0.4% of Canada's GDP, the note added.Nvidia (NVDA) customers are facing price increases of over 15% on servers equipped with its artificial intelligence chips due to rising memory costs, Bloomberg reported Saturday. Separately, Nvidia is discussing an investment in Perplexity as part of a funding round that would value the AI startup at more than $30 billion, The Information reported Sunday. Nvidia declined 2.9%, the Dow's worst performer.Expedia (EXPE) delivered its fifth consecutive beat and raise in Q2, with full-year guidance raised on all three lines, as the business-to-consumer segment continues to see solid top-line improvement and stronger margin expansion, Wedbush Securities said Thursday. Shares of Expedia jumped 5.4%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.Gold futures rose 0.5% to $4,704.3, while silver futures slid 1% to $68.86.
Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$EXPE$NVDA$SNDK
