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Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed Amid Steep Decline in Communication Services, Surging Treasury Yields
(Updates with index/price moves and political/company news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed amid steep declines in communication services and consumer discretionary and rising government bond yields after midday Monday.The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2% to 26,194.83, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% to 7,472, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 51,696.7.All sectors, except communication services, consumer discretionary, consumer staples and technology, gained. Real estate and healthcare led the gainers. Communication services sank 4.4%, and consumer discretionary was down 2%.Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) Google DeepMind data scientist and Nobel Prize winner John Jumper is leaving to join Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet-backed Anthropic, he said Friday. Shares of Alphabet slumped nearly 6%, one of the steepest decliners on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.Netflix (NFLX) is looking to pursue additional partnerships with traditional broadcasters following the launch of its agreement with French broadcaster TF1, Chief Executive Officer Greg Peters told the Financial Times on Friday. Shares of Netflix dropped 6%, among the worst performers on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.In geopolitical news, US Vice President JD Vance said Monday that Iran agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into the country, according to media reports. "That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran, and that's exactly what we wanted to do," Vance was cited as saying.Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi and the country's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are traveling to Oman to discuss the management of the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported on Monday. The two are set to discuss consolidating Iranian arrangements for managing the strait and enhancing bilateral coordination, Ghalibaf said on Telegram, according to the news report.Front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 3.4% to $77.87 per barrel. The US West Texas Intermediate dropped 3% to $73.66 per barrel.Most US Treasury yields jumped, with the 10-year up six basis points to 4.52%. The two-year rate jumped 4.9 basis points to 4.23%. Even as oil prices have been declining since an interim peace deal was signed between the US and Iran, the market is still pricing two interest rate increases -- 25 basis points each -- by the end of this year, according to the CME FedWatch tool, following the hawkish lean seen in the June monetary policy announcement last week.In precious metals, gold futures fell 0.9% to $4,209.1, while silver futures declined 1% to $65.68.In company news, Chevron (CVX) has agreed to build a power plant in West Texas to supply electricity to a data center operated by technology giant Microsoft (MSFT), as part of a 20-year power purchase deal. Shares of Microsoft dropped 2.5%, among the steepest decliners on the Dow.AbbVie (ABBV) agreed to acquire Apogee Therapeutics (APGE) in an all-cash deal of about $10.9 billion, as the drugmaker looks to strengthen its immunology portfolio and accelerate its clinical presence in the respiratory segment. Shares of AbbVie advanced nearly 7%, one of the top gainers on the S&P 500.CRH (CRH) said it agreed to acquire building materials rival Arcosa (ACA) in an all-cash transaction valued at about $8.5 billion, expanding its infrastructure products business and strengthening its position in North America.
Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$ABBV$ACA$AMZN$APGE$CRH$CVX$GOOG$GOOGL$MSFT$NFLX
