Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Investors Await Iran Sanctions While Chipmakers Push Technology Lower
(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, tariffs and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed as mega-cap semiconductor names pushed technology to the bottom of sector charts and crude oil declined ahead of Iran economic sanctions.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% to 26,064.7, and the S&P 500 declined 0.2% to 7,659.2 after midday Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the intraday trend, rising 0.2% to 53,392.1.Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, eight of the bottom 10 names by intraday returns were in the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those eight firms, seven were related to the semiconductor industry. Sandisk (SNDK) led the pack of tech decliners, down 6.5%.US Treasury yields traded mixed, with the 30-year down 5.6 basis points to 5.22%, the 10-year lower by 4.2 basis points to 4.7% and the two-year little changed at 4.24%. The US Treasury Department may tap its General Account to help fund its buyback operation, CNBC reported.The US is set to warn countries to cut ties with Iran or risk their businesses being cut off from the dollar-based financial system when it unveils the "greatest financial offensive ever" on Monday, a source told Reuters.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will outline measures to broaden the scope of potential secondary sanctions on entities and countries that maintain economic ties with Iran, the source, who was familiar with the plans but not authorized to speak publicly, told the news agency.There appear to be growing differences within Iran's leadership on how to handle the conflict with the US, CNN reported. While President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran "cannot continue with war forever," others have continued to reject dialogue, the news report said.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract retreated 1.9% to $85.38 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 1.8% to $92.71 per barrel.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 2.1%, among the Dow's worst performers.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 4.1%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.Strategy (MSTR) established USD Cash, a separate US dollar liquidity pool within its Digital Credit Capital Framework for future bitcoin treasury purposes, the bitcoin treasury firm said in a Monday regulatory filing. Shares of the company jumped 5.3%, the biggest outperformer on the Nasdaq.In economic news, the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank's monthly National Activity Index fell to minus 0.08 in July from 0.06 in June, compared with expectations for a smaller decrease to minus 0.05 in a Bloomberg survey.President Donald Trump said US tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel will rise to 50% next year, escalating trade tensions between the two countries after bilateral trade talks collapsed on Friday.Gold futures rose 0.9% to $4,724.1, while silver futures slid 0.8% to $68.94.
